Patrick Woods' quintet, The Works, grabbed the audience's attention within moments at The Spin last Thursday, with its forceful rhythms and uncomplicated melodies giving out a strong scent of a pared down Weather Report. Nic France, on drums, with Bosco d'Olivera, on percussion, created between them an infectious, edgy sound. Linked to the wonderfully precise, yet free moving, bass lines from Neville Malcolm this provided a rhythmic carpet for the sax lines of Mark Lockheart (pictured) to work over that was both a real groove and constantly shifting sands. A magical mix that allowed Lockheart, on saxes, and Patrick Woods, on synth and Fender Rhodes, to play quite spare lines without these seeming thin or banal.

Yet, despite this great energy from the rhythm section, there were times during the first half when the front end seemed to drive all this power into softer sand, and the music bogged down, becoming almost winsome and imprecise. This malfunction in the steering seemed to coincide with numbers where Woods abandoned the organ for acoustic guitar.

Nevertheless, as often happens, the second half of the evening picked up the power of the first numbers. Mark Lockheart, who had at times seemed lacking in drive and ideas, found another gear and played solos that had all the characteristic energy and melodic intensity from a player who must be one of the best saxophonists in the country at present. Woods, who does not push himself forward as a soloist, stirred some funky choruses out of the Fender Rhodes.

This is a band that has obviously worked hard together, for every number was tight and faultless, showing the skill of Woods as a composer and bandleader. On the other hand, since Lockheart was the only front man, there was a great deal of weight on his shoulders. It seemed that with the inclusion of a second horn player to share the solos and give the melodies more bite this would be a band that would move from being good to being fantastic. Or maybe that's asking for another Weather Report, which is unfair.