Local lad made good. Hammond Organ maestro. Drum sensation. Great gig. Paul Booth, originally from County Durham, has covered a lot of ground (quite literally) over the years yet his jazz journey is no where near it's mid-way point. At around fourteen years of age Booth was afforded the opportunity to sit-in at Blaydon Jazz Club. His exceptional ballad playing was noted and it wasn't too long before Jazz North East booked him to play at the Corner House. The inevitable move south, mixing it with some seriously good musicians, trips to America and see-the-world tours with some heavyweight names from the pop world followed.
December 2011, in his mid-thirties, Booth re-visited his old stamping ground with two supremely talented musical pals. Organist Ross Stanley, last heard on Tyneside with guitarist Mark McKnight, took a different approach to this trio gig - less Blue Note Hammond, more Ross Stanley. Drummer Andrew Bain was a little known name on the scene until this Newcastle appearance. After this gig he is the favourite drummer of this reviewer! What a player! Everything he played was spot-on, endlessly inventive and he goes by the nickname of 'Faces' Bain.. His facial expressions were infinite, each one etched his considered response to the magical music-making of the trio. The material was drawn from Paul Booth's latest CD Trilateral. The CD title tells a tale; Booth's desire to work in trio format with three different trios, the recording project occurred in Booth's thirty third year and so on. First set highlights included Three of a Kind and Three's a Crowd featuring some world-class blistering tenor work from Booth. A trip to Brazil inspired Chorinho Triangular with Booth's flute playing a delight. An interval refill (Black Sheep), a chance to catch-up with some old jazzer pals and it was time for a second helping of the Paul Booth Organ Trio. Menage a Trois (Booth assured us he had tried - unsuccessfully!?!) proved to be a further highlight. The evening drew to a close as homage was paid to two of the most influential bass players of the last fifty years; Charles Mingus - Self Portrait in Three Colors - and Jaco Pastorius - Three Views of a Secret. Highlight after highlight. Three, yes three cheers for Paul Booth! A wonderful way to end Jazz North East's 2011 programme.
Russell
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