Jazz has always understood that the most interesting thing can happen between the notes. Heather Ferguson’s Jammin’ Under Jack embraces that principle wholeheartedly, capturing a live session in London’s Soho with the kind of immediacy that makes you feel as though you have wandered downstairs and discovered the band already playing. Recorded in four hours, the EP is intimate, spontaneous and refreshingly unconcerned with studio perfection.
The five tracks move through a deceptively broad musical landscape. “North Star” and its alternate take offer different perspectives on Ferguson’s songwriting, while “Never, Never, Never” and “Save Your Love for Me” reveal her ability to inhabit classic jazz vocabulary without sounding trapped by it. “Charade” completes a set that feels carefully chosen but never overly controlled.
The recording method tells much of the story. Everyone performed together in a single room, live off the floor, creating the possibility of musical conversation rather than post-production assembly. You can hear the philosophy in the results. The performances have movement and air, and the occasional rough edge becomes part of their charm.
There is a lovely sense of place running through the EP, too. Recorded beneath the historic Jack Solomons Club, the session carries an underground quality that feels appropriate for music rooted in improvisation. Soho has always been a place where different creative worlds collide, and Ferguson’s session captures something of that spirit without turning the location into mere decoration.
What makes Ferguson particularly compelling is the perspective she brings to the music. Her career has continued to evolve in mid-life, demonstrating that artistic development does not have an expiration date. Jammin’ Under Jack feels like the work of someone increasingly comfortable with allowing experience to become part of the sound rather than something that needs to be concealed.
For listeners who want jazz with fingerprints still visible, this is an inviting release. Jammin’ Under Jack documents musicians responding to one another in real time, with Ferguson at the centre of a warm and fluid ensemble. It is a reminder that sometimes the best recording technology is simply putting talented people in a room and letting them play.
Heather Ferguson