Jo Harrop: Live at West Side Jazz
Updated: Sep 5
Jo Harrop and her exceptional band brought a special mix of arrangements to West Side Jazz in Welwyn Garden City: their collaborative spirit shown across the stage and entranced the audience.
Joined by Nigel Price (guitar), Tom Farmer (bass) and Dave Tandy (drums), Jo featured songs that were familiar and those less well-known. They all swapped ideas and musical motifs all night: whether backing Jo’s inventive vocals or improvising, these musicians were listening closely to each other and responding effortlessly.
You can find out more from my Harmonious World interviews with Jo in May 2021 and Nigel in a live episode in October 2025.
Although the ballads were - as usual from Jo - heartfelt, inventive and delivered with controlled panache, there were some upbeat numbers that absolutely roasted.
There was an opportunity for drummer (and West Side Jazz impresario) Dave Tandy to show off his Latin chops on the wonderful Gershwin classic ‘S Wonderful.
Less well-known tunes like the Rodgers and Hart There’s a Small Hotel and Brooks Bowman’s East of the Sun are extra special with the Harrop treatment.
One of my all-time favourite tunes is Billy Holiday’s gorgeous Fine and Mellow, which closed the show. Jo swapped four-bar and then two-bar phrases with Dave’s percussive ideas.
If you’re quick, you might be able to get tickets to Jo’s album launch for Love Now, Pay Later at Pizza Express, Dean Street on 7 and 8 October.
The next few months at West Side Jazz promise great music, with 100 Years of Miles and Coltrane (7 October) and the West Side Jazz Orchestra (4 November)
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