Weekend jazz nights are back, with the Afif brothers leading a new quintet that plays at the JLT PizzaExpress every Friday night. Drummer Rony Afif, bassist Elie Afif, and saxophonist Jino Kim have teamed up with guitarist Max Itani and saxophonist Joaquin Sosa, creating a brand new sound.
The band doesn't have a pianist or organist at the moment, although Itani bridged that gap quite well with his guitar work. The inclusion of a second sax player in Sosa also meant some great segments of reed harmonization -- one of the best features of the musical output of this configuration.
As far as the new venue goes, it's quite different from the old dark and cozy bar atmosphere; the band is now playing in a more dining-oriented (but still licensed) space. It's compensated for, however, with more room onstage, and the pizza being actually very good. There's also an outdoor section for those who smoke, making it much more pleasant inside for those who don't. And it's in the heart of New Dubai, which also makes it a short ride away for me.
One would not ordinarily expect dyadic combinations of British, pizza and jazz, but there is apparently a British pizzeria in Dubai that does jazz. Daily. With good pizza.
I had heard about this strange phenomenon weeks ago, but only got down to it this week, and on the day that happened to be International Jazz Day. It's called PizzaExpress, and seems to have been founded in the UK as an authentic Italian-style pizzeria, and later, a jazz club. I knew of one PizzaExpress in the Dubai WTC complex, but that is definitely not a jazz club. This one in JLT has a resident jazz pianist and entertainment manager named Nathan Hill, who performs every night, and does a jam night with a band and other guests on Tuesdays. They launched only a month before, with Keith Sweat headlining.
I was pleasantly surprised by the pizza. We ordered one smoked salmon "Salmone" pizza and one mushroom-laden "Mia Sofia" pizza in the "Romana" style, both of which were delicious. The semi-dried marinated "Rustica" tomato and "Marcona" almond intros were also really good.
As for the jazz (and, to please the crowd, its associated genres), I must say that was the biggest surprise of the night. Finding such talent - both professional and amateur - at a pizzeria in JLT just blew me away. Nathan performed and supported other jammers' performances superbly, as did the other instrumentalists. All the vocalists participating in the jam night performed with enthusiasm, and a couple of them were especially astounding in their ability to sing jazz, soul, blues and R&B.
