Portico Quartet/Penguin Cafe – review

Bridgewater Hall, ManchesterThe stage hosts what look like three giant woks, which Portico's Nick Mulvey gives the occasional rub with a bit of blanket. He's not planning a stir-fry: these are the 2008 Mercury-nominated modern jazz quartet's distinctive "hang drums". Their sublime, balm-like melodies – despite being played with sticks, like percussion – form a core ingredient of the mesmerising sound.Around them, busy drums and bass whip up an urgent undercurrent, while Jack Wylie's soprano ...

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