The Music of Charles Mingus @ Jazz at Obie's (Southgate Club), London - May 27

Malcolm Earle Smith (trombone, vocals); Art Themen (tenor sax); Gabriel Garrick (trumpet, flugelhorn); Kate Williams (piano); Larry Bartley (double bass); Ethan Sweeting (drums)

The Music of...Malcolm Earle Smith (Professor of Jazz, Trinity, London) has taken to putting together ensembles to play the music of whatever and whoever. This evening's all-star sextet, purposely restricted to a one hour rehearsal, would play the music of Charles Mingus.

The Southgate Club Ltd, on the Piccadilly line at, unsurprisingly, Southgate (two stops short of end-of-the-line Cockfosters), is home to Jazz at Obie's. It's a typical social club, not CIU, but, to all intents and purposes it could be. The all-star line-up tempted your correspondent to make the round trip of some 550 miles to listen to Malcolm Earle Smith and co play the music of Mingus. 

As a fair few folk (no doubt regulars at Obie's) took their seats on a warm, late spring evening, our sextet opened with Dizzy Moods. Excellent ensemble work: genial Malcolm Earle Smith leading from the front, late dep Gabriel Garrick (in for Pete Horsfall) assured, powerful, Art Themen on terrific form, Kate Williams comping, then comping some more, Larry Bartley a towering presence, recent Trinity graduate drummer, Ethan Sweeting, mixing it with the big boys...and the, musically speaking, big girl!

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

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

Playlist 31/05/26 (repeated Tuesday 02/06/26)

Requests: Stan Kenton, Kenny Barron Trio, Bix Beiderbecke (Bing Crosby), John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Dave Douglas, Bill Evans/Stan Getz, Django Reinhardt, Dave Brubeck.

Tony Eales’ Best of British Big Bands: John Dankworth.

New Release: Rachel Therrien.

Memories: Benny Goodman, Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra/Frank Trumbauer.

What’s On in the NE: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band.

Remembering Miles Davis.

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

Matt Holborn & Kourosh Kanani @ Cafe Boheme, London - May 27

Matt Holborn (violin); Kourosh Kanani (guitar)

A few days shy of 'Flaming June', the last week in London had been hot, hot, hot. Underground trains were hot, China Town was hot, Soho sizzled. On this Wednesday afternoon, on the corner of Old Compton Street, Cafe Boheme offered refuge from a burning sun. 

It's the kind of place where the few listen and the many chatter, volubly. The musicians at work this afternoon - Matt Holborn and Kourosh Kanani - got on with the job. Without introduction - words would have been lost on the noisy majority - our violin-guitar duo opened with Days of Wine and Roses. Playing for themselves, no doubt,  and good for them, and the very few intent on listening, Holborn and Kanani were as relaxed as could be. Exchanging extended solo improvisations, this was top class stuff worthy of the concert hall. 

Press release: NCRO - Annual concert at New Venue

A quick reminder of our annual concert at Gosforth Trinity Church & Centre, High Street, Gosforth NE3 1JZ on Saturday 20 June at 7.30pm.

Once again our special guest on piano is Martin Litton, an internationally renowned musician, arranger and bandleader, specialising in all the classic styles of jazz from ragtime to swing.  Also joining us will be our good friend Nick Ward on vintage percussion, Steve Andrews will present the show, and not forgetting our very own Caroline on vocals!

 

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool - BBC Four tonite!

This evening (Friday 29), the Beeb's week of all things Miles Davis (tv and radio) culminates in 'another chance to see' Stanley Nelson's biopic of Miles Davis, Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool. First broadcast on BBC Two in March 2020, rare archival footage of Miles makes it compelling viewing. 

Album review: Sam Braysher - A Sinner Kissed an Angel (Fresh Sound Records - New Talent)

Sam Braysher (alto sax); Linus Springer (guitar); Darryl Hall (bass); Eric Ineke (drums)

A truly international quartet led by an English saxophonist, an Amsterdam based German guitarist, an American bassist living in France and a Dutch drummer playing a selection of lesser known tunes and making them, if not their own, at least joint share-holders.

Leader Braysher has been well represented within these pages both on record and live. On this, his latest album, the sound of the alto sax has the warmth of Johnny Hodges, the creativity of Charlie Parker and the bite of Phil Woods - a potpourri of urbane sophistication well-suited to the opening track. 

Album Review: Jan Harbeck Quartet – Conversation (Stunt Records)

Jan Harbeck (tenor sax); Henrik Gunde (piano) Eske Nørrelykke (bass); Anders Holm (drums)

This is a lovely album of solid blowing, pretty firmly in the mainstream and all the stronger for it. Harbeck’s influences include many of the old masters (Webster, Getz, Gordon) and he’s backed by a solid rhythm section and it all makes for a hugely enjoyable forty or so minutes. Gunde’s piano can be fluid and melancholy or Monk-ishly angular and he adds all sorts of rills and thrills to his wide spectrum playing.

As a group they can romp effectively through the lively numbers and can slam on the brakes for something bluesier. Opener, Passing Clouds, is a dark lit/late night club of a tune and the third piece, Odd One Out is in a similar vein. Harbeck’s slides and elisions draw you into the emotions in these songs, and, by the end of the latter piece you can see, in your mind’s eye the desperation of our imaginary protagonist. It’s crying out for a good lyricist and a blues voice. Nørrelykke is solid at the back whilst Holm adds minimalist brush strokes.

Sting likes Knats

In an interview on ITV news in the Tyne Tees area, local boy made good, Sting,  talked about the forthcoming London presentation of his shipyard based musical The Last Ship.

Without actually mentioning their name, he also managed to slip in a plug for Knats, a north east, London based, band who are being heard in all the right places - just as Last Exit were some 50 years ago.

Nice one Gordon (Sumner) - Lance

Album review: Heidi Martin – Attunement (self)

Heidi Martin (vocals); Marc Carey (piano); Michael Bowie (bass); Eric Kennedy (drums) + Elijah Easton (tenor sax tks 2, 3); Ethan Bailey Gould (guitar tks 3, 4, 8)

There is something deeply courageous about an album like Attunement. In an age where so much music feels designed for instant consumption, Heidi Martin has instead chosen patience, reflection and total immersion. What began as two years of academic research into the estate of Abbey Lincoln at Rutgers University slowly evolved into something far more personal than a traditional tribute record. This album is not interested in recreating the past. It is an album that attempts to sit beside it, listen to it and absorb its spirit.

Martin’s time studying Lincoln’s journals in chronological order clearly left a profound mark on her writing. You can feel it throughout these songs. Not through imitation, but through atmosphere, philosophy and emotional honesty. There are moments on Attunement where it feels as though Martin is less concerned with performance and more concerned with emotional alignment, trying to understand what it means to create from a place of complete truthfulness in the same way Lincoln always did.

Sonny et moi

This is the closest I ever got to meeting the late Sonny Rollins - Paris circa 1980/81. Lance