Yellowjackets, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, Soho, London, 22/05/2026

Graeme Blevins – saxophones, Russell Ferrante – piano, keyboards, Dane Alderson – bass, Will Kennedy – drums

What would the right collective noun be for the Yellowjackets fans? Jackettes? Waspies? Mellow Yellows?

You could feel the trepidation among us on Friday night.  Bob is on sick leave and Aussie sax man Graeme Blevins is on depping duties. Depping for Bob Mintzer - the saxophonists’ saxophonist - the understated legend, composer, arranger, and all round nice guy. As Blevins himself admitted, it’s “the impossible dep”.

In fact there are no deps in jazz. Improvising doesn’t work if a player is aping someone else. You lose a dimension. All the “dep” can do is play honestly, listen furiously, and hope they complement the group.

There was never any question whether Blevins could make up for Mintzer’s absence. No one but Mintzer can be Mintzer. 

The question is can the Yellowjackets be The Yellowjackets with their front quarter replaced? Can the old guard find their stride while young men strut around the front?

After all, the Yellow Jackets is a real band. A genuinely organic brotherhood of subtle musical exploration that always lifts and often reaches the sublime. When Dane Alderson joined, it was a few years before they fused into a single musical entity. Five gigs into covering for broken fingered Bob, how would Graeme’s energy affect the others? 

Spirits move in music when there’s improvisation and space. Pixies surf the golden zone between notes and silence. The Jackets are all about that golden zone, between ideas played and ideas left hanging. The magic lies in those un-played notes, everyone feels their absence together. It’s a rare phenomenon, but they often find it. 

Blevins has amazing time and a personal style of articulation. His playing is very clean, and he nails every entry, every detail. Will Kennedy noted, Graeme “prepared very well”. He is also understated, a quality shared with the boss. He read the tunes from an iPad and wore in-ear monitors throughout the gig, and I was scared he’d be disconnected from the musicians around him, or that they’d feel disconnected from him. But as he played the parts perfectly, you could sense the others warming to the security. 

Dane appeared happy to have his old buddy on the gig and he played his socks off. Kennedy, was clearly enjoying the articulated rhythmic sax and his solos have become more assertive since their time as backing band for Kurt Elling  

While his normal role as secret master of ceremonies was less evident, he channelled that into the announcement mic - depping for Bob as band spokesperson.

Russell Ferrante seemed to remain in support mode for most of the gig. His solos are the epitome of the band’s minimalism, and in his stride he creates more and more space. But tonight he seemed a little distracted. As much as the fan club egged him on, Ferrante prioritised seamless transitions to sax entries. Maybe it’s because his young granddaughter was denied entry to the building, or that his keyboard was out of commission and he was using the house Nord. The piano was also a little low in the house mix. Maybe he simply missed Bob’s reassuring presence. 
 
About half way through, Mr Blevins closed his eyes and started to enjoy himself. The crowd roared and the band got juicy. Finding their flow they played Dane’s electronic-sounding tough groove “Xemeris” then two classics: “Claire’s Song”, and “Revelation”, to the joy of the entire room as they wrapped up another incredible gig  

The Yellowjackets always rise to each occasion. It’s even tempting to think they revel in overcoming  adversity. Whatever you choose to call us diehard fans, this was a gig to make us - and the rest of a full house at Ronnie’s - extremely happy.

AARON LIDDARD