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Bebop Spoken There

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Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Monday, September 11, 2017

The Ushaw Ensemble: St Cuthbert’s Suite and The Sound of Achill @ The Gala Studio, Durham - August 25


(Review by Brian Ebbatson)
The Ushaw Ensemble was put together by Musical Director Paul Edis to perform Paul’s St Cuthbert Suite on the occasion of St Cuthbert’s Day 2016 at Ushaw College and in the Chapel in Durham Cathedral. This was - to my knowledge - only its third public performance.
Paul was somewhat nervous as to how the Durham Gala Lunchtime concert audience would respond to longer compositions, requiring more engagement. However, his two pieces were received with the warmth and appreciation now customary at these concerts. Many in particularly commented on the depth and inventive narrative of the music, as well as its interpretation by the band.
The suite - in two parts - follows the life of Cuthbert in Melrose, Richmond, Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands, his death and subsequent canonisation, Viking raids, and the flight and wanderings of the Lindisfarne monks with his coffin, their Gospel and other treasured possessions to their ultimate refuge on the peninsula in Durham. Paul’s programme notes guided the audience through the suite and were important to the understanding and appreciation of the musical narrative and exposition.

The instrumentalists assembled through the Ensemble allow the work to feature a wide sound palette, exploring the different tones and textures offered both by conventional jazz instrumentation as well as that from Northumbrian folk traditions, while the composition reflects the moods and emotional impact of composers such as Debussy and Ravel, Ellington and Messiaen. All instruments contribute both to the ensemble work as well as featuring in solos. The combination of violin and reeds is familiar to jazz composition, and pipes and violin to folk music, but the combination of pipes, violin and brass (not to mention flute and bass clarinet) produce new and exciting ensemble sounds which merit further exposure.

The Suite opens on violin with St Cuthbert’s Theme, which is developed and returned to throughout the work. Andy’s pipes feature first on A Shepherd from Melrose, backed by trumpet, sax and piano. They are joined in impressionistic lines by Emma’s violin for Cuthbert’s Vision, with harmonies from the other players. Trumpet and pipes, piano and sax all feature on The Indefatigable Evangelist, which concludes with an abrupt stop, after which the musicians move straight into Solitude, a reflective piece depicting the saint’s later hermit life on Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands. Paul Susan’s pizzicato double bass introduces the melody, which is then picked up by Graeme’s bass clarinet, another beautiful tonal combination, followed by a carefully constructed solo by Graham on flugel. Then flugel and sax develop the thematic lines, with Emma concluding Part I as she began it on violin.

Rob’s muffled percussion creates the setting for Many Miracles, opening Part II. Pipes, sax, trumpet and violin develop the musical narrative against Rob’s compelling percussion. Emma’s violin introduces The Death of Cuthbert on an exquisite high note, with accompanying harmonies from the front-line players. In contrast, The Vikings is a more explosive and at times violent piece. Paul Susan’s slow dark bowed bass line foreshadows the ensuing tumult, strident trumpet notes and piano chords build the tension, the drums crash as the ominous mood builds. The bass, now plucked at pace, leads in to the onslaught, the percussion clashes wildly, Graeme’s tenor improvises screeching lines up, down and across the scales, Rob’s lengthy drum solo reaches a rolling climax and the music fades back to the bowed bass as the fighting concludes.

Paul’s piano sets out in 7/8 time for Seven Years Wandering as the monks flee Lindisfarne with Cuthbert’s coffin, Graeme solos on tenor, followed by Paul on piano, Emma’s violin, Graeme’s flute, Paul Susan’s bowed bass and Rob’s cymbal crash. The Wonder Worker of England restates the opening Cuthbert’s Theme, featuring tight ensemble playing, and the suite concludes with Dunholme, in which the musicians improvise around the sounds of birdsong on the banks of the Wear. The pipes close the suite with a final lament.

The Sound of Achill is a new piece, approximately ten minutes long, so the audience was treated to a World Premiere! It seeks to depict both the serenity and the wildness experienced on Ireland’s Atlantic coast.  Again the pipes play the introductory theme, backed by trumpet, sax, and violin. Then piano, accompanied by pizzicato violin, lead to sax and trumpet weaving patterns around the theme. Paul’s piano introduces a pipes solo, bass and drums in support. Rob changes the rhythm and Paul stretches out on a long solo, building intensity to lead to Rob’s final drums – no serenity here. The piece concludes with bass and pizzicato violin again, and brass and pipes bringing the piece to close.
This ensemble and these compositions certainly deserve more exposure, either through performance or recording, particularly as the repertoire expands. Perhaps we can only then gain and give a full appreciation of their music. Hopefully the logistics of getting the musicians together and the finances will not overly restrict the opportunities.
Brian 
Paul Edis (MD/composer/piano); Graeme Wilson (saxes/bass clarinet, flute); Graham Hardy (trumpet/flugel); Emma Fisk (violin); Andy May (Northumbrian pipes); Rob Walker (drums/percussion); Paus Susans (double bass).

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