Throughout the 1970s, Steve Gadd was the drummer of choice for in-the-know New York record producers and arrangers and the name to watch out for on album-sleeve name checks. He racked up commercial credits by the bucketload but his lasting impact came from the way he stripped down the shuffles, grooves and swing of jazz and blues and sculpted a new pulse. Lean, precise and with an opulent sound, he played exactly what was needed for maximum rhythmic effect. It was perfectly in tune with its time and the ideal accompaniment for the studio-created orchestral jazz that rescued the medium from financial oblivion.

At this rare UK club date, featuring a Hammond organ/sax quartet, Gadd showed he had lost none of his power or precision. It was an exhilarating mix of old friends get-together and first-take record session with each phrase sounding perfectly formed in the moment of its creation.

The quartet’s repertoire was solidly blues-based – “It Ain’t Nobody’s Business if I Do”, Ellington’s “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be” and Horace Silver’s “Sister Sadie”, all blues of one form or another – and the grooves were clearly signposted. There were tricky bits – sudden stops, out-of-nowhere changes in pitch and tempo – but the real nuggets came with the band playing at full stretch. All four have the knack of delivering the unexpected, even on this gig’s well-worn path, and the bounce-off-the-walls ensemble playing was immaculate.

Ronnie Cuber took frontline duties on baritone sax, riffing midway between raucous holler and jazzy invention – his gentle delivery of “Georgia” was a highlight. Paul Bollenbeck delivered supple rhythms and whispered blues – sustained brilliantly on “Way Back Home” – and Joey DeFrancesco was a powerhouse of invention on Hammond organ – tumbling harmonics, shifting textures and churning bass pedals. And Gadd probed and pushed, playing exactly what was required – a simple hi-hat on every other beat, a resonant, well-placed bomb, two quiet taps to round things off.

The finale, “Changes”, shifted from soul to gospel to hi-octane swinger. It was euphoric stuff and it took a lot of coaxing to get the encore, a cruise-control Jimmy Smith blues, “Midnight Special”.