Digital single review: Laila Biali - Free Man in Paris

© Robert Ricard

Laila Biali (vocals, piano, arr.); George Koller (bass); Ben Wittman (drums, perc.); Glenn Patscha (B3); Kevin Turcotte (trumpet); William Carn (trombone, horn arr.); Tara Davidson (alto sax); Kelly Jefferson (tenor sax); Shirantha Beddage (baritone sax); David Quackenbush (French horn)

Back in the days of my blinkered youth I'd have regarded the coupling of Joni Mitchell and jazz as bizarre as Ronnie Scott's famed one liner - "... and next week it's Jim Dale sings Thelonious Monk!"

Well Jim Dale is but a forgotten name in the annals of pop history whereas the work of Joni Mitchell, as horizons widen, is held in the highest regard by musos of all genres. It probably began for me through her collaboration with the great bassist Charles Mingus and grew.

Album review: Alberto Chiozzi Quintet - Blue Friday (Euritmus Records)

Alberto Chiozzi (drums, leader); Tom Kirkpatrick (trumpet); Alberto Bernicci (alto sax); Nico Menci (piano); Luca Pisani (bass)

Born in Verona but resident in NYC since 2021 Chiozzi has an imposing cv that includes touring Europe with Samara Joy, collaborating with Pasquale Grasso* and appearances at Smalls, Mezzrow and Ornithology.

Blue Friday brings together five musicians clearly at home with the bebop language in the traditional bop line-up of trumpet, alto, piano, bass and drums. Of the six numbers three are from the fertile musical mind of Kenny Dorham with one each from Joe Henderson, Charlie Parker and Miles Davis - jazz royalty all.

R.I.P. James Madison (1947 - Oct. 29, 2026)

James (Jimmy) Madison passed away on Thursday after a long illness. A drum legend he played with many famous names including Lee Konitz, Duke Ellington and, of particular interest to north east fans Roland Kirk. It was as a member of the latter's Vibration Society that he played at the 1976 Newcastle Jazz Festival.

To this day the concert is still spoken of as being something special. 

A recording was shown on the BBC's Lively Arts Programme although I don't think it has been picked up by YouTube.

By all reports, apart from being a great drummer he was also very much a fun-loving person.

Rest In Peace.

Lance

Album review: 8-Funk - Level Design

Leon Laisne (bass); Luca McCardle (keys); Yuzuha O'Halloran (alto sax, flute); Eoghan McClosky (drums)

I know nothing about video games - I can't even fathom out fruit  machines so I'm probably not the man for the job here. However, it's the music that counts and on that score I'm on firmer ground (I think...).

It's still not easy. I like to equate the music with the title. To do that I'd need a crash course tutored by some precocious child - but which one? There's millions of them and tonight they will be disguised and, armed with pumpkins, out in force terrorising the neighbourhood.

Sara Oschlag, Arnie Somogyi & Ben Lawrence @ The Ship Isis - Oct. 23

Sara Oschlag (vocals); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); Ben Lawrence (keyboards)

The Ship Isis on Silksworth Row is a rare example of a surviving/thriving Victorian pub. Previously owned by Cameron's, later a Jarrow Brewery establishment, it is now home (on occasion) to Sunderland's Old Black Cat Jazz Club. The second of four gigs over a long weekend for Sara Oschlag and Arnie Somogyi, their short tour of the region would see them visit Newcastle twice, Hexham, and this Friday evening, Sunderland.

Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bandstand! - October 15

Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums)

Bandstand! Where's that? Ah, well, you'll know it well. Exhibition Park's old cafe, closed by Newcastle City Council (so-called 'austerity' continues), recently reopened by an independent operator, is putting on a regular jazz night. The first of them featured the Dean Stockdale Trio. 

And for a first night, SOLD OUT! signs were just what Doctor Jazz ordered. Oscar Peterson's Reunion Blues, the first number. Let's hope it's the first of many in the coming years. Pianist Dean Stockdale (a big fan of OP), bassist Mick Shoulder and drummer John Bradford know the Gasbook well and a chattering bunch in one corner of the room wasn't about to distract them.*

The Mingus Big Band @ Ronnie Scott's, London - Oct. 20

The Mingus Big Band: Alex Sipiagin, Alexander Pope Norris, Philip Harper (trumpets); Luis Bonilla (trombone), Robin Eubanks (trombone, vocals); Earl McIntyre (bass trombone, tuba); Wayne Escoffrey (tenor sax), Craig Handy (tenor sax, flute); Sarah Hanahan (alto sax); Mark Gross (alto sax, soprano sax, flute); Lauren Sevian (baritone sax); Theo Hill (piano); Boris Kozlov (double bass); Donald Edwards (drums)

The first of two houses this evening, the second of six nights. Across the week, eleven of twelve performances have sold out in advance. As the house lights went down, Ronnie Scott's was packed to the gunnels. The attraction here on Frith Street? All the way from NYC, the Mingus Big Band! 

A huge, not to mention expensive, undertaking, fourteen musicians, plus tour management, flying across the Atlantic, hotel accommodation for the week, Mingus at Ronnie's has become an eagerly anticipated annual occasion. Every chair in the band occupied by an A-lister, the NYC outfit hit the ground running. Wow! Wow! Wow! 

Jazz Time Aycliffe Radio - Sundays 6.30-8.00pm (repeated Tuesdays 8.00-9.30pm).

https://www.ayclifferadio.co.uk/listen. 

Playlist 01/11/26 (repeated Tuesday 03/11/26)

Durham Jazz Festival: Marvin Muoneké, Billy Eckstine, Federico Luongo.

Memories: Clifford Brown, Illinois Jacquet, Phil Woods, Joe Turner.

Requests: Mildred Bailey, Capp-Pierce Juggernaut.

Mercury Prize: Raye.

Memories: Zoot Sims.

Requests: Oscar Peterson.

What’s on in the NE: Jasmine Myra, Fergus McCreadie, Spats Langham, Ewan Bleach & the Cable Street Ragtime Band.

Centenary: John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman. 

Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington Area and via your smart speaker. 

Sue Ferris Quintet @ Blaydon Jazz Club - Oct. 19

© Roly

Sue Ferris (tenor sax); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Lawrence (keyboards); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums)

A return visit to Blaydon Jazz Club for the Sue Ferris Quintet. A tenor saxophonist of renown, Sue Ferris is one of the region's banker bets. The Black Bull welcomed Sue for the umpteenth time, such is her popularity. Joined by her established quintet - frontline partner Graham Hardy, fast-emerging pianist Ben Lawrence, incomparable bassist Andy Champion and first-call drummer John Bradford - the bookies weren't taking anymore bets, it was odds-on this evening's concert would deliver the goods.

Album review: Jasper Høiby’s 3 Elements – Conversations of Hope (Edition)

Jasper Høiby (double bass); Xavi Torres (piano); Naima Acuna (drums)

It’s great to be able to buy a Jasper Høiby album on CD again as the last couple have only been available on vinyl or download. Høiby first came to notice as a member of the Phronesis trio who toured a few times to the north east, most notably on the Walking Dark tour which, if I remember correctly, was a tribute to Høiby’s sister, who was blind, with the concerts being illuminated only by the emergency exit signs, all other lighting extinguished. Since Phronesis, Høiby has operated as a bandleader in Fellow Creatures and now leads his constantly changing 3 Elements trio in which he has been the only constant member. Across this period he has increasingly turned to the environment for his inspiration, most notably on the Plan B album.