The tenor saxophonist Bobby Wellins is one of the treasures of British jazz. At the heart of his sound are an intense melodic lyricism and the ability to construct new themes for the songs he plays that sound as convincing and natural as the original tune. He first displayed this skill at its finest 41 years ago in his celebrated recording with Stan Tracey of the Under Milk Wood suite, and it was on show again at the London launch of his new album , When the Sun Comes Out, on such standards as Mad About the Boy and When You Wish Upon a Star.
Wellins is a raconteur on his saxophone, and as he proved in a pre-session conversation with Helen Mayhew, he is a storyteller in words as well, his deadpan Glaswegian delivery bringing 1960s Soho vividly to life. Both skills, of course, are all about timing, and Wellins brings both relaxation and behind-the-beat insouciance to his solos. The 606 is an ideal setting for his kind of intricate small-group interplay.
Everyone is close enough to the bandstand to keep tabs on the glances that fly between the players, the shifting of emphasis between bass and piano or drums and saxophone, and the acoustic favours the natural sound of the band, rather than relying on amplification.
Wellins never dominates a performance overtly, but he insinuates his musical personality into every nook and cranny of the band’s playing so that, even when he is working with unfamiliar musicians, it bears his inimitable stamp.
A perfect example was Duke Ellington’s Lucky So and So, which the pianist Pete Churchill sang. Wellins produced some fluffy phrases behind the vocal that cunningly drew the attention, and he paved the way for a subtle, minimalist solo from the bassist Steve Watts, backed up by the understated street beat of Dave Wickens on drums.
He managed it again on the ballad I Got It Bad, and That Ain’t Good, in which his throwaway phrases behind the lyrics led into a masterly tenor solo that pulled the theme inside out and upside down with that compelling mixture of humour, toughness and vulnerability reminiscent of the best Glaswegian stand-up comedians.