I’m fortunate to get to see really good music on a fairly regular basis. However, every now and then, something still comes along that utterly blows me away. When this comes in the form of a band of supremely talented, young musicians, it’s simply the best feeling out there.

 

Tuesday 6th February 2024, at Annie’s Jazz Club, Southend-on-Sea, was one such night, as I got my first taste of the totally captivating trumpet player, Olivia Cuttill, with her Quintet.

 

Fresh out of Leeds Conservatoire, Cuttill’s charismatic stage presence defies her age. With so many technically solid, young musicians taking time to develop their stage craft, Olivia took to the stage like a seasoned pro and had the (almost capacity) audience eating out the palm of her hand by the second tune.

 

The music was mainly taken from Cuttill’s brand new album, “The Whole Damn Plan”, which is filled with her own compositions. What really struck me, very quickly, was that the quality of the song writing matched the strength of the musicianship on display. The band blazed their way through memorable tune after memorable tune, with a spattering of well-delivered standards, each given the Olivia Cuttill treatment.

 

With nearly two hours of music, it’s impossible to mention everything, but I do need to give a special mention to “Insurance Man”, with its delightful bass groove and playful lyrics, and “Your Old Man’s Plan”, with a wonderful vintage-sounding muted trumpet which exploded in to a fierce solo making it hard to keep the smile from my face.

 

Also thrown in to the mix was a mesmerising rendition of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (one of my most favourite songs), which stunned the room in to absolute silence, and a very clever take on Bobby Timmons’ “Moanin”, with which we got to see the hugely impressive range and technique of vocalist Issey Chivers.

 

In conclusion, it is my opinion that Olivia Cuttill really is the “full package”. Her’s is a name we are all going to be hearing a lot in the coming years and I’m so glad to have caught her at the start of, what I have no doubt will be, a meteoric rise. Remember the name.

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Olivia Cuttill - Trumpet

Issey Chivers - Vocals

Tim Harris - Piano

Fergus Quill - Double Bass

Miles Pillinger - Drums