Tomorrow’s New Quartet, Music Spoken Here, The Marr’s Bar, Worcester, 28/05/2026

Rod Oughton – drums, vocals, Harry Brunt – tenor saxophone, flute, Sam Watts – keyboard, Pete Komor – electric bass

Tonight’s performance represented the fourth anniversary of Music Spoken Here, the fortnightly series of jazz events founded by instigator / promoter Dave Fuller. I attended my first MSH show in March 2023 and would like to thank Dave for giving me the opportunity to cover MSH events on a regular basis since that time. Many reviews of MSH promotions can be found elsewhere on these web pages.

Named after the title of a John McLaughlin album MSH presents “the best in jazz, funk and fusion”, sometimes expanding even further into soul and gospel. Largely focussing on electric jazz and mainly presenting original material MSH offers a very different style of music to most of the other local jazz clubs that I attend on a regular basis, which are generally far more straight ahead. MSH has been a real breath of fresh air on the Midlands jazz scene and beyond.

Since its inception MSH has presented performances at The Marr’s Bar, the long running rock club run by Brian ‘Marzy’ Maher that has become something of a Worcester institution. It’s proved to be the ideal home for MSH’s brand of contemporary jazz and the series has slowly acquired a loyal following as Dave has patiently begun to build an audience. MSH listeners have learned to trust Dave’s judgement and many rising stars, several of them associated with London’s Tomorrow’s Warriors organisation, have appeared for MSH. But the Midlands, and other regional jazz scenes, have also been been liberally featured. Dave regularly embarks on ‘musical scouting missions’ to various parts of the UK, unearthing a wealth of jazz talent in the process and subsequently bringing it to The Marr’s Bar.

For many it’s the chance to see a style of music that is unique to the area, played by musicians who often rarely play outside London, that is the real lure of MSH. Audiences have also come to love The Marr’s Bar itself, the down to earth rock club environment, the friendliness of its staff (all music lovers) and most importantly the high quality sound that is a characteristic of all MSH gigs are also factors in the success of the series.

Dave Fuller is to be congratulated on the success of MSH and there was a real air of celebration about tonight’s events. Dave had even ventured into culinary territory, normally wife Jenny’s domain, and in her absence had baked some rather excellent cakes, specifically for the occasion.

In amongst the celebration there was still a note of caution. Although audiences have risen year on year and a loyal following has been accrued the series still needs more ‘bums on seats’ if it is to continue beyond five years.

As successful as the series has been one still can’t help feeling that a city the size of Worcester should be capable of providing even bigger crowds than this. As a regular attendee at MSH events for the last three years I’ve witnessed some exceptional music and also made a lot of new friends in the process. It’s a great series and I do hope that it will be able to continue long into the future – but it does need increased support from the city of Worcester and the wider area for that to happen and I do hope more people can be persuaded to come along and get behind it. That said the local print media have really got behind MSH and given the series every support, so it’s up to the local public to respond and help keep it going.

Providing the music for tonight’s birthday party was the London based group Tomorrow’s New Quartet, led by drummer, composer and occasional vocalist Rod Oughton, a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama (RWCMD) in Cardiff. During his student days I was fortunate enough to witness Oughton perform in a number of different line ups, usually at the jazz clubs of Brecon and Abergavenny. Among these were the RWCMD Big Band, the Afro-Cuban ensemble Mañana Collective and guitarist James Chadwick’s trio. I was always impressed by his playing, which was skilful and which paid great attention to detail.

Following graduation Oughton has moved to London and has steadily been making his mark on the English capital’s music scene. As a sideman he has worked with both the Ridout siblings, trumpeter Alexandra and saxophonist Tom in addition to vocalists Hannah Grace, Jana Varga, Ineza and Tina Carr, saxophonists Harry Brunt and Ben Treacher, pianist Joseph Costi and blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Saiichi Sugiyama.

Oughton is also currently a member of Sargento Pimienta a band that specialises in salsa style arrangements of Beatles songs.

Other groups that he has worked with include bebop / hard bop outfit Septology and Hourglass, a group specialising in the music of the American guitarist, singer and songwriter James Taylor.

The range of acts, across a number of genres, with which he has been associated both during and after his period in Cardiff is a considerable testament to his versatility.

That versatility also find expression in Oughton’s two primary creative outlets, Tomorrow’s New Quartet and OK Aurora.

TNQ is essentially an all instrumental unit that currently features Oughton plus saxophonist Tom Smith, pianist Sam Watts and bassist Flo Moore. A previous version of the group featuring pianist Deschanel Gordon and saxophonist Helena (now Harben) Kay released their eponymous debut album on Ubuntu Music in 2022. In 2023 I was fortunate enough to enjoy a live performance by the original TNQ line-up at Brecon Jazz Club. My review of that event, which also takes a brief look at the recording, can be found here.
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/tomorrows-new-quartet-brecon-jazz-club-the-muse-arts-centre-brecon-12-12-2023

The OK Aurora project is very different and features Oughton as a songwriter and lyricist. The band is an octet fronted by the voice of Russian born singer Alina Miroshnichenko, another RWCMD graduate. The Cardiff connection is completed by tenor saxophonist Dan Smith and bassist Pete Komor,  both now London based but also RWCMD alumni.

 It should be stated that OK Aurora is not a straight- ahead jazz ensemble. With regard to this project Oughton is aiming for a blend of contemporary jazz and intelligent pop, with artists such as Steely Dan,  Becca Stephens, Bob Dylan,  Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Neil Young and Crosby, Stills and Nash all named as significant influences.

Both of OK Aurora’s albums, “Only In Autumn” (2021) and the recent “Hope” (2026) are reviewed elsewhere on this site.

The TNQ line-up the Oughton brought to the Marr’s Bar included regular band member Sam Watts on keyboard with OK Aurora member Pete Komor deputising for Flo Moore on electric bass. On tenor sax and flute, stepping in for Tom Smith, was Harry Brunt, like Komor a member of Jazzmann favourites Howl Quartet. Komor and Brunt fitted in superbly, perhaps not so surprising given that Oughton ‘deps’ with Howl Quartet from time to time, replacing regular drummer Matt Parkinson. Howl’s chordless tenor / alto sax line up is completed by OK Aurora member Dan Smith. The links between the four musicians in tonight’ line up were therefore strong, despite the members not constituting of a regular working group.

With Kay and Gordon having departed the TNQ ranks to concentrate on their solo careers tonight’s repertoire included only two pieces from the debut and instead concentrated on newer material, a second TNQ album from the current line up with Moore, Watts and Tom Smith is in the offing.

The sound of the current edition of TNQ is also different from the old. In 2022 Oughton spent time studying in Sao Paolo in Brazil and his love of Brazilian music and culture finds now expression  in his writing for both TNQ and OK Aurora.

Indeed the evening got off to a lively start with “Oka Baiao”, a Brazilian flavoured instrumental that appears on the OK Aurora album “Hope”. This was ushered in by Watts at the Nord Stage 4 keyboard purchased by MSH with the kind financial assistance of Sumir Karayi. A feature about this instrument, authored by Dave Fuller, can be found here;

Returning to “Oka Baiao”, which featured a combination of Brazilian and bebop flavourings and which included some excellent interplay between the band members. The featured soloists were Brunt on tenor sax, who displayed his usual fluency and authority, and Watts at the Nord, favouring an electric piano or ‘Rhodes’ sound, as he did for most of the evening. Oughton’s use of cowbell helped to give the music an authentic Brazilian/ Latin flavour.

Introduced by Komor on electric bass the new tango influenced composition “Recurrence” saw Oughton’s wordless vocals doubling Brunt’s sax melody lines, this combination augmented by hard driving rhythms to impart the music with an almost anthemic quality. Elsewhere the consistently impressive Watts, whose playing was very much the ‘glue’ that held the group together, was featured as a keyboard soloist.

Named for Katherine May’s memoir of the same named the ballad “Wintering” demonstrated a more gentle side of the band and of Oughton’s writing. Tenor sax and keyboard combined to state the theme and the piece also represented something of a feature for Brunt, whose solo was softly spoken, but profoundly eloquent.

Dedicated to, and named for, the veteran saxophonist Eddie Gray “Ever Green” began gently, with Brunt stating the theme, before developing a solid groove that provided the platform for Watts’ keyboard soloing.

Another dedication followed with “Meteor H”, a tune from the repertoire of the original TNQ group. The title is an anagram honouring the great Brazilian multi-instrumentalist and composer Hermeto Pascoal and Oughton has previously described his piece as being a “pastiche” of Pascoal’s style”. He’s probably selling himself a bit short there, although Pascoal’s influence was manifestly present in the soloing of Brunt on tenor and particularly Watts on keyboard.

The second set commenced with another Oughton tune that had been in the TNQ repertoire in 2022, but which, like “Meteor H” was never recorded by the first version of the band. I suspect that both pieces will appear on the forthcoming album.  The title of “Chorinho Para Mudanca”, translates as “a little cry for change” and was introduced here by the leader on the pandeiro or ‘Brazilian tambourine’. Full of Brazilian style exuberance and good humour this piece saw Komor featuring as a soloist for the first time, followed by Brunt and Watts, with the latter now adopting an acoustic piano setting at the Nord. Oughton’s wordless vocals were also featured on this piece.

From TNQ’s debut album “Three High”, the first tune to be written for the then new group,  was ushered in by Oughton at the kit, with Brunt subsequently stating the theme in saxophone trio mode. In the week of his passing one was reminded of the great Sonny Rollins (1930 – 2025), the pioneer of the saxophone trio format. As Watts made a comparatively late entrance Brunt continued to solo, his playing underpinned by the complex Brazilian / Latin rhythms laid down by Oughton and his colleagues. Watts subsequently soloed at the keyboard before combining wit Komor to support Oughton’s neatly constructed drum feature.

To congratulatory applause from the crowd Oughton informed us that he is to become the father of twins, an event celebrated via the new composition “Two Heart Beats”. This appropriately tender ballad featured Brunt on flute for the only time, although the sound of his playing was almost drowned out by that of the Marr’s Bar’s air conditioning system, as was Komor’s solo electric bass episode. Oughton initially played with brushes, sometimes sitting out entirely, although the piece did begin to gather a greater groove and momentum towards the close.

Brunt returned to tenor sax for “All Together, Now!”, the lively title track of TNQ’s debut album. In his liner notes to the album Oughton makes reference to the tune’s “unison melody, to mirror the great efforts and sacrifices that we were making as a society”. Musically this exuberant piece had something of a bebop feel about it as that tricky unison melody line provided the jumping off point for expansive and ebullient solos from Brunt and Watts followed by a series of exchanges between Komor’s bass and the leader’s drums, with Watts comping.

In addition to his time studying in Brazil Oughton has also visited Cuba and the new composition “Thomasito” was dedicated to the son of his guide on that Cuban trip. Introduced by the drums this piece was exuberantly played in an Afro-Cuban style with Watts delivering a piano solo appropriate to the idiom, followed by Brunt on tenor sax.

The enthusiastic Marr’s Bar audience gave the quartet a great reception and the deserved encore was a beautiful version of the Abdullah Ibrahim composition “Water From An Ancient Well”. This was introduced by the sound of unaccompanied tenor sax, with electric bass and Oughton’s hand drumming and off mic wordless vocals subsequently added. Watts was then added on keys as Komor delivered a liquidly melodic electric bass solo.

This was an excellent way to celebrate MSH’s fourth anniversary and the quality of the performance helped to ensure that TNQ enjoyed healthy sales at the merch desk. My thanks to Rod, Pete and Harry for speaking with me during the interval and after the show. I’m now looking forward to hearing that new TNQ album.

Meanwhile MSH will present two events in June 2026 before taking a summer break and then returning on a fortnightly basis on September 10th. I urge the people of Worcester and the wider Midlands area to get behind these events and to help ensure the future of this enterprising series. Please help this birthday to have many happy returns.

For details of forthcoming events please visit http://www.musicspokenhere.club

IAN MANN

Dave Fuller’s account of the event, as published in MSH’s weekly newsletter, appears below;

South American vibes from Tomorrow’s New Quartet

 

What a fantastic night of music on Thursday as Tomorrow’s New Quartet helped us celebrate four years of Music Spoken Here at The Marr’s Bar with a deliciously South American infused performance of original music composed by drummer and band leader Rod Oughton. The band included Sam Watts on keys, with Pete Komor stepping in for Flo Moore (currently touring with Alfa Mist) on bass and Harry Brunt in for Tom Smith on sax and flute

We had tango, choro and samba alongside some swinging bop and the delightfully delicate encore of Abdullah Ibrahim’s Water From An Ancient Well to close out the evening. Several of the pieces were dedicated to people significant to Rod - “Evergreen” to his grandfather (initials E.G.), “Tomasito” to the son of a friend who took the band to Cuba, and a more recent composition “Two Heartbeats”, Rod’s musical response to the news that he is about to become a dad to twins!

Only two songs from the band’s first album were included in tonight’s set (the title track “All Together, Now” and Rod’s very first composition for this band, “Three High”), so it was great to see several people buying CDs to explore this band’s repertoire further. Well done to Dominic Byatt, who won a CD for solving the anagram in title of “Meteor H” to Hermeto (Pascoal), the Brazilian composer, which closed out the first set.

I really enjoyed this gig, it was musically superb and refreshing on a very warm evening. I look forward to reading Ian Mann’s comprehensive review on TheJazzMann.com in the next few days. I was also very pleased that my first attempt at Jenny’s / Nigella’s Chocolate Guinness Cake turned out well, although the frosting got a bit runny in the heat!

Thanks to Trevor Bailey, who stepped in again on camera duty and got some fantastic shots from the evening, some of which you’ll find on this gig’s journal page in The Vault on our website in due course. We also had a new (to us) sound engineer Ben Hall, stepping in last minute for Willis due to family illness. If you’re involved in the Worcester music scene, you may know Ben as one half of Worcester Source, set up in 2023 with co-promoter Hannah Webb and specialising in using historic buildings and unused spaces throughout the city for their gigs.

I really had hoped that this milestone event would be well attended and that we might even see some of our local musicians swing by in support, but I guess other commitments got in the way for most and, disappointingly, we saw our lowest turnout since storm Goretti kept everyone indoors back in January (missing another night of fantastic Brazilian music from Minas Project). I’m beginning to wonder if Worcester and the West Midlands have an aversion to Brazil! Let’s hope not, as we have four more excellent Brazilian / Latin bands coming up in the autumn, which I will certainly enjoy, as I’m sure will everyone else who comes through, just as they did on Thursday!

DAVE FULLER

 

 

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