Bird Lives @ The Cherry Tree. Mark Toomey Quartet

Mark Toomey (alt), Jeremy McMurray (pno), Peter Ayton (bs), Dave Donnelly (dms).

Bird lived tonight at the Osborne Rd. eatery when Mark Toomey opened up with Parker's Mood. His blues drenched alto effecting the resurrection of the spirit of Charlie Parker.

Yardbird may have been raised but no such good fortune befell my Fried Quail's Egg as it sat nicely atop my Corned Beef Hash Cake prior to being devoured. By the time Mark had reached his third chorus of Stella By Starlight it was sunk without trace apart from the pleasing vibes from my taste buds.

There Will Never Be Another You (Ewe?) was the perfect background to a Marinated Lamb Steak, Grilled Aubergine & Spiced Red Lentils main course that lingered long after the last succulent morsel had gone. Jeremy's piano choruses on What Is This Thing Called Love had a similar lasting effect.

East of the Sun - shone - It's You Or No One did too.

I can think of few better combinations than Pistachio & Apricot Tart with Chantilly Cream and the MTQ playing Night in Tunisia. The two complement each other perfectly.

It was a night of good music and good food.

Only one minor quibble Mark's announcements weren't very clear so I missed out on the titles of his originals and, because of the nature of the venue, perhaps introducing the players is better done at the end of the set rather than at the beginning where the diner's priorities are in deciding whether to go for the Watercress and Endive Salad or the Scottish Smoked Salmon with Rye Bread and Lemon starter rather than wondering who's on bass.

However, that's just me being 'picky'.

Lance

Après Sage Jam @ The Hilton

Extra curriculum activity for Friday & Saturday.  Hilton Hotel 11.00pm - 2.00am  Noel Dennis Quartet/Quintet will host an après concert jam session in the Hilton Hotel (official festival hotel) so hopefully we can expect some after hour fireworks from some of the weekend's jazz celebs. Noel Dennis tpt/flugel, Adam Dennis piano, Andy Champion bass, Adrian Tilbrook drums and on Saturday the addition of Rod Mason alto.

Adrian.

Happy 80th Birthday Stephen Sondheim

Okay so maybe it's not jazz but, sometime, when you have a spare minute, play & listen to the lyrics of " Everybody ought to have a maid" It is a number from " A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum" this is sheer genius, tongue in cheek suggestive stuff...long live SS. He is composer of the week on Radio 3 starting today at midday until Friday, 5x 1 hour progs repeated at 10pm each eve.

Happy birthday.

Liz.

You Couldn't Write The Script... The Safe Sextet (minus 2) - Splinter @ The Bridge Hotel.

John Rowland (ten), Alan Law (pno), Barry Ascroft (bs. gtr.), Steve Doyle (dms).

This was one of those nights where you couldn't write the script and if you did it would be for Spike Jones and his City Slickers!

The only difference tonight was that, for all the slings, arrows and music stands that befell them, the four piece sextet played music that swung.

Although now working as a quintet at their Jazz Café Friday night residency, they have retained their Safe Sextet nomenclature as it has more pizazz than say The Quintessential Quintet and besides, Steve's spent much time and energy fixing the letters to the head of his bass drum.

However, misfortune struck before a note was blown. Trumpet-playing leader Don Forbes was taken ill and so then there were four.

This meant that a new set list had to be made out with the onus falling on John Rowland. and, as if this wasn't enough, during the actual playing, music stands fell over frequently without, it has to be said, anyone missing a beat. 'Tis my feeling that the traditional music stands that have stood (!) the test of time for say the Hallé Orchestra are no longer practical for the gigster and nor do they enhance things visually.

Fortunately, the music itself more than made up for outrageous fortune and stirring renditions of Bernie's Tune, Blue Bossa, Four, Come Rain or Come Shine, a Clifford Brown/Max Roach number - Quicksilver - and several more concluding with Blue Monk made this a night when the Safe Sextet triumphed magnificently over adversity.

On piano, Alan Law played brilliantly; big fat chords and tension building crescendos that merged into delicate diminuendos. With Alan on keys a quartet really does sound like six.

John Rowland blew some tough tenor whilst Steve and Barry drove him all the way.

They will be back in the Autumn.

In the meantime best wishes to Don, I'd been looking forward to hearing him blowing trumpet and flugel.

Lance.

Dave Barden 'Off the Record' @ The Biscuit Factory, Newcastle.

Painter Dave Barden's latest exhibition - Off the Record - in the Cube Gallery at the Biscuit Factory focuses on his current investigations of the cover/label art of 78 and 45 rpm records.

Barden has had a long association with jazz and blues music. He was artist in residence at a recent Gateshead International Jazz Festival at the Sage and has exhibited widely on his chosen subject.

This current show features pop culture in equal measure to that of jazz and blues. Barden will frequently paint directly onto cardboard and collage pieces. Impressionistic, immediate responses suggest, perhaps, Sinatra at a studio mic, Bruce Adams and Alan Barnes sharing the stand and...well, go see, imagine for yourself.

Prices range from £450.00. - £1600.00.. One painting Jazz on a Summer's Day has already sold (£750.00.), so if you want one, you'd better be quick!

Russell.

No More Pizza On The Park!

From information gleaned from one of my 'snouts' I understand the Knightsbridge Pizza Express has been given notice to vacate the building by 24th June, as the owners of the site have an apartment block or hotel planned for the site ..... such a shame! After all these years of wonderful shows, it looks like it's finally curtains for this legendary venue. Lance

On the Sunnier Side of the Street..

Chatting to Digby F at the Daryl Sherman gig we found we were both big fans of Manhattan Transfer.

Having not heard Man Tran for awhile I YouTubed them and enjoyed their take on TD's On The Sunny Side of the Street.

However, when I tracked down Dorsey's original version with vocal by The Sentimentalists it was no contest - sorry MT.

Lance.

"Bits and Pieces". Tribute to a Guitarist - Leo Bissonnette.

Some nice guitar playing on this link from the late, unknown on this side of the Atlantic, Montreal based, Leo Bissonnette. His fellow bandmate Mike Wilkinson provides the introduction and compiled the collection.

Leo died 1970's. Click here for first of four. Lance.

Only 7 Days to Go...

As the Sage, Gateshead, INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL is only 7 days away Now's The Time to check out the program and make that last minute booking before it's too late.

As well as the previews on this site (right panel) there are in depth looks at each event on the Sage website. Click here and get it from the source.

Lance.

SNAFU

If you have difficulty posting comments please email them to me direct (lanceliddle@gmail.com). The blogger team are working Cole Porter hours (Night and Day) to resolve the problem. Lance.

Joscho Stephan Trio @ Customs House, South Shields. March 17.

Joscho Stephan (guitar), Gunther Stephan (guitar) & Max Schaaf (double bass). The Studio space in the Customs House hosted a return visit to South Shields by the German born Django disciple Joscho Stephan.

A smattering of applause from a disappointingly small audience welcomed the trio to the stage. From the start Django Reinhardt was at the heart of the performance; Django's Tiger and Minor Blues proved to be excellent vehicles for Joscho to demonstrate his total command of the idiom. Swing News was the first of several original compositions to feature throughout the evening. The trio never strayed too far from the familiar and the audience was treated to Caravan and Charlie Chaplin's Smile. Stephan cites Chet Atkins as an influence and concluded the first set with a dazzling take on Main Street Breakdown.

The second set offered more of the same; Take the A Train, a gypsy waltz La Gitane and a vigourous workout on Honeysuckle Rose. No concert with such inextricable links to the Hot Club era would be complete without Nuages and so it was we got it. The closer was Sweet Georgia Brown with a finger-style intro from Joscho - I can hear this tune any time and in the hands of this virtuoso trio it didn't disappoint.

A two-tune encore followed and then it was all over. The lack of applause for each and every one of Joscho's brilliant solo excursions was perplexing, disappointing and at times, embarrassing (although applause was plentiful at the end of each number). Gunther Stephan's Hot Club-style rhythm accompaniment was first rate (the occasional solo would have been welcome) and bassist Max Schaaf's unobtrusive, authoritative performance was as good as it gets. The next time Joscho Stephan visits the north east treat yourself. Russell.

GIANTS STILL WALK THE EARTH - at least they do in South Shields. MAINE STREET JAZZMEN @ Rosie Malone's

Ray Harley (tpt), Herbie Hudson (tmb/vcl/hca), Jim McBriarty (clt/vcl), Malcolm Armstrong (pno), Alan Rudd (bs), Tommy Graham (dms), Olive Rudd (vcl).

One thing about a jazz gig is that you never know who is going to walk through the door.

Today, at Rosie's, who should that person be but legendary drummer ERIC DELANEY!

Eric (pictured left with myself), who regularly topped the MM polls and led a successful big band in the 1950s, was visiting South Shields and where else is there to go in Shields on a Thursday afternoon?

I had a good chat with him - he's playing with Digby and the ace baritone player from LondonJazz - at Ronnie's on Sunday. His enthusiasm for the music is undiminished.

He didn't sit in (unless it occurred after I left) but was keen to do some gigs up here. Eric's the most spritely 86 year old I've ever come across so I reckon he would slot in very nicely with any of the local bands.

On the stand, apologies if I've given you short measure today, the Maine Street were swinging as ever with Fidgety Feet outstanding.

A grand afternoon in the presence of a gentleman.

Photos.

Lance.

Daryl Sherman at Pizza Express, W1 - Clive Davis

Mike Durham has kindly drawn my attention to this review by Clive Davis in the London Times.

"The death last year of Blossom Dearie has left a large hole in the jazz firmament. No one will ever quite replace her. The good news, though, is that Daryl Sherman, an impish, swing-oriented singer-pianist whose singing has more than a hint of Blossom about it, has crossed the Atlantic again. Sherman digs deeper into the archives than most of her peers. Her most recent album takes a centennial stroll through the Johnny Mercer catalogue. If you needed a companion to Gene Lees's elegant biography of the songwriter for all seasons, Sherman's playlist would be a good place to start. In the studio she also had the help of a supple band that featured Jerry Dodgion, the veteran saxophonist. In Soho, by contrast, Sherman had minimal backing at her disposal, with just the guitarist Dave Cliff and the bassist Andy Cleyndert to keep her company. But her blend of well-honed anecdotes and astute musicianship yielded a performance that had the intimacy of a tete-a-tete, the audience hanging on her every word. While she may be no full-throated diva, Sherman's sprightly delivery and her spare soloing make an insouciant combination. Even if her voice is not built for grand passion, she delivered one of the most wistful versions of I Thought about You that you could hope to hear, one that was light years away from the classic big band swagger of Sinatra's Songs for Swingin' Lovers. Midnight Sun proved to be every bit as evocative, while At the Jazz Band Ball swung demurely. Towards the end Sherman switched her attention to the work of the lyricist Johnny Burke. A dainty treatment of Pennies from Heaven and a genial tribute to Dorothy Lamour on You're Dangerous -- borrowed from The Road to Zanzibar -- proved that she has as good an eye for buried loot as that other singer-researcher, Michael Feinstein."

Clive Davis.

BRAD MELDHAU TRIO/SOFIE VON OTTER SOLD OUT!

Wed 2 June LONDON Wigmore Hall WITH ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER Sold Out. Thurs 3 June MANCHESTER RNCM 0161 907 5555 / rncm.ac.uk Fri 4 June LONDON Wigmore Hall Sold Out Sat 5 June LEEDS Opera North 0844 848 2705 / operanorth.co.uk . I suppose it all depends on how you define 'Sold Out'. Lance.

The Connie Crothers Quartet

Richard Tabnik, alto saxman with the NYC based Connie Crothers Quartet, tells me the band are planning a trip to Europe in May and would like to set up some gigs.

A friend of mine informs me that Connie cared for Lennie Tristano in the latter days of his illness and she lists Lennie as being among her influences.

Visit their website for sound samples.

http://www.conniecrothers.net/

Lance.

CD Review - ACV "Fail in Wood".

How many flowers fail in wood

Or perish from the hill

Without the privilege to know

That they are beautiful.

How many cast a nameless pod

Upon the nearest breeze

Unconcious of the scarlet freight

It bear to other eyes. - Emily Dickinson

The words of Emily Dickenson provide the inspiration for the title of this, at times, compelling album by ACV. I'm not entirely certain why these words were chosen or indeed their significance but they do seem to convey the mood of the album.

ACV is the brainchild of bassist Andy Champion who composed all 8 tracks. If you heard the band at its recent Splinter @ The Bridge gig you'll know what to expect. If you didn't then maybe you're in for a surprize.

ACV are, apart from Andy on bass, Graeme Wilson (ten/bar), Paul Edis (pno), Mark Williams (gtr) and Adrian Tilbrook (dms) - Well and truly an A Team outing.

Overall the album has a jazz-rock feel about it that touches on the edge of free without becoming totally non compis mentis - a formulist such as me can live with this.

Graeme Wilson soars like a swallow on tenor and an overfed eagle digesting his prey on baritone. Rich and luxurious with the occasional be-burp flurry it is a good sound.

Mark adds distinctive touches - is there a better guitarist? - as does Paul whose occasional Hammond-like voicings almost turn it into a Blue Note set.

Andy, as befits, is almost magisterial doing the business all round whilst Adrian is powerful and aggressive only when needs demand he be powerful and aggressive.

There are moments of tenderness and moments of kick the door down ferocity.

Well worth hearing.

Lance.

Preview Gwyneth Herbert and Band. Sage Gateshead Jazz Festival.

For those who want to hear a true original with a distinctive voice there are few singers who embrace those characteristics as ably as does Ms Herbert. Not many, if any, British singers get snapped up by Blue Note which speaks volumes for Gwyneth's universal appeal.

An intriguing event that, from my point of view, unfortunately clashes with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra's concert in Hall One.

Pre concert talk (7 pm Hall Two Sunday March 27. Free to ticket holders for Gwyneth Herbert concert that follows.) Described by Time Out as a "jazz-folk diva with an awesome voice", Gwyneth Herbert defies categories and musical genres. She talks with Alyn Shipton about the art of song-writing, and the music on her fourth CD, "All the Ghosts". Free to ticket holders for Gwyneth Herbert concert. Concert (8 pm Hall Two £16.50.) Gwyneth Herbert is a singer-songwriter inspired as much by Janis Ian and Joni Mitchell, as by Billie Holliday or Nina Simone. Her latest collection, 'All The Ghosts', Naim Edge, features ten new songs, which speak directly without forethought for genre or category. In their melodic immediacy and observational characterization, you might hear the Lennon-McCartney of 'Sgt Pepper', or the Ray Davies of 'Lola', rather than any jazz stereotype. Expect witty, captivating vignettes populated by a living, breathing cast of beaten-down dreamers, jaded city-dwellers, and women in a quandary. "On the year-end hitlist whatever its genre" The Guardian The band comprises Gwyneth Herbert (vox, piano and ukulele), Al Cherry guitar, Sam Burgess bass and Dave Price percussion. "On the year-end hitlist whatever its genre" The Guardian Lance.

(Link to LondonJazz Gwyneth Herbert Review).

Chris Yates Remembered in the Jazz Rag.

The late Chris Yates was remembered in the Spring edition of the Jazz Rag with quotes from Bebop Spoken Here. Lance.

The Death Knell for Traditional Jazz Part 2 - Alan Rudd.

Unfortunately, as Brian correctly points out, despite the apparent abundance of local jazz gigs, the local trad/dixieland scene has for a long time suffered a steady decline in the numbers of musicians drawn to this type of jazz. As a result the average age of a typical local jazz band is usually quite high and, without an influx of new personnel or a revival period, it is almost inevitable that the scene will fade out eventually.

You only have to compare the queues of young people waiting to audition for x factor, to the numbers of young people queuing to get into your local jazz gig to realise the scale of the problem.

I honestly don't know if there is a viable solution. However, I would suggest the situation could be seen as an opportunity for some one to look at the possibly of school gigs (maybe as a presentation with some actual live performance) rather than just working the normal pubs/clubs/jazz clubs scene.

Link to original article by Brian Bennett.

Alan Rudd.

Splinter @ The Bridge - ALTER EGO

Dave Hignett (tpt/flg), Keith Robinson (alt), Niall Armstrong (ten/flt), Andy Hawking (pno), Giles Strong (gtr), Ian Paterson (bs), David Francis (dms).

There was a lack of mothers in the audience tonight - this being 'their' day (theirs and the Florists) - no doubt they'd persuaded their family that there were more important things to do than to drink beer and listen to some excellent hard bop.

Alter Ego are a tight 7-piece that drives hard and creates the sound and feeling of many of the '50s Blue Note sessions. Indeed the finale, Hank Mobley's Roll Call, is one of my favourite tracks by the great tenor player.

Alter Ego did it justice.

Many of the other numbers were compostions by the great albeit now not so much publicised Bobby Watson. Hopefully this band will help bring his name to the forefront once more.

All the soloists were impressive - they have technique to spare - with Dave "Highnote's" stratospheric flights particularly ear catching.

Altoist Keith played with much fire, whilst Niall's complex lines sprinted in and out of the changes with ease. Andy Hawking, great on piano, and the rhythm section top notch.

A good session that could have done with some more chassis' on chairs.

Lance.