The Bridge on a Sunday is a well established jazz gig - see LL's review of Zoe G's latest appearance - and it was brought to my attention by LL himself that there was some late-night jazz going on down in the Head of Steam's basement bar. Well, having left the Bridge sometime after eleven, walking past the place I couldn't help but have a look in. Pianist Paul Taylor had long gone (see LL's piece) and the boys from NUJO were on the stand.
NUJO? Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra - not the full band but plenty of them. They were cool twen-teen somethings. They all had beards except the piano player - she most certainly did not. Cool. Standing at the bar I ordered a pint. What was that tune? Ah, it sounded a bit like Tito Puente's Oye Como Va. The trumpet player (bearded) sat this one out. He sat on and in one of those deep, deep sofas you can only find in a cool place like this. He was cool, oblivious to all around him, fingering the valves and laying down the greatest solo of all time - in his head. I sat down next to him. I sat down, he sprung up. Cool.
Jaco's The Chicken, in the pad of any self-respecting student band, caught my attention. The bass player kept it together as all around him grabbed a solo - alto, soprano, guitar, keys (no beard), trumpet. Cool. Soprano sax played My Favourite Things. Trane would have nodded his approval. Cool.
The quality quotient rose considerably as Lindsay Hannon sat in. She called on guitar maestro Mark Williams (bearded) to join her on Georgia. Cool. Really cool. A bop work-out followed with everyone looking cool. Hannon gave way to Claire Kelly who told us she was Born on a Friday. A true statement? I know not. She was, however, most certainly cool.
As I wandered off home sometime in the early hours I asked a student if this would be a regular gig. Maybe, he said. Cool.
Russell.
Great to hear that there's a late night jazz gig in town.
ReplyDeleteJust one scientific question:
Can a Head of Steam be cool?
JC