Internet down

 Normal service ASAP. Apologies  Lance 

Buy your ticket to the 30th Marsden Jazz Festival and help secure its future.

(Press release): One of the longest-running jazz festivals in the UK needs your support to bring word class live music to rural Yorkshire and ensure its survival. September 2022

Marsden Jazz Festival returns for its 30th year on 6th-9th October 2022 with an electrifying lineup of award-winning, international acts, including Gary Crosby, Emma Rawicz, Arun Ghosh, Ruby Wood and Robert Mitchell. 

Frank Griffith Quartet @ the Railway, Stockport - Sept. 25

Frank Griffith (tenor sax/clarinet); Richard Wetherall(pianol); Ed Harrison (bass); Victor Lundberg (drums)

Here at the Railway I arrived early in order to grab a good seat in front of the bandstand and the room was already starting to fill up with the usual Sunday night regulars. Ed Harrison was the first of the band to arrive but by the time 9pm rolled around there were no other musicians to be seen. This was weird as I’ve always found that bass players are normally the last to arrive at gigs but, on further investigation, it appeared that  both Frank and Victor were on their way and had got delayed for traffic reasons. The next to arrive was Richard Wetherall and you could almost hear a sigh of relief from the assembled jazz fans.

This Sunday @ the Prohibition Bar - Celebrating the Life and Music of Pharoah Sanders

The death of free form legend Pharoah Sanders on Sept. 24 sent shock waves through the jazz fraternity with many reacting in their own individual way.

The Sun Ra Arkestra, with whom Sanders played in the 1960s tweeted: Pharoah Sanders Sun Ra Arkestra alumnus has departed this planet.

Closer to home, guitarist Tom Atkinson has assembled a band of disciples to pay tribute to one of the founders of Spiritual Jazz this Sunday (Oct. 2) at the Prohibition Bar on Pink Lane. See poster for details - Lance

Laura Jurd on the radio, Laura Jurd on tour

Last week Laura Jurd was at Ronnie Scott's playing cornet with Giacomo Smith's Hot Five. This afternoon (Monday 26) Jurd's trio will be performing live on BBC Radio 3. Tune to In Tune from five o'clock. And tomorrow Jurd sets off on a nationwide tour with her six piece band playing music from her latest album The Big Friendly Album, calling in at Sage Gateshead on Wednesday (8:00pm).   Russell

Sue Mingus (April 2, 1930 - Sept. 24, 2022)

Behind every great man there's a woman or - so the legend would have it. In the case of the great American bassist/composer/bandleader Charles Mingus that was most certainly true which makes the passing of Sue Mingus all the more heartfelt.

Her relationship with Charles Mingus, particularly during his latter years, are told without gloss in her book Tonight At Noon - A Love Story.

Harry Keeble Quartet @ The Gala Theatre, Durham - Sept. 23

(© B. Ebbatson)

Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion (bass); Abbie Finn (drums)

By way of a preview of the music to be heard on a forthcoming album, the Harry Keeble Quartet presented a 'play-through' to the Gala Theatre's lunchtime audience. Keeble indicated he would prefer to let the music speak for itself and keep the talking to a minimum. And with that Keeble counted them in. Mark Williams sported a Telecaster, Andy Champion a five-string bass, Abbie Finn her familiar custom-made kit. 

Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music 2022 Archipelago + Bartholomew + Taupe @ Bobiks, The Punch Bowl, Jesmond - Sept. 24

(© Ken Drew)

Archipelago - Faye MacCalman (tenor sax, clarinet, synths, electronics); John Pope (bass); Christian Alderson (drums)

Bartholomew – Electronics

Taupe - Jamie Stockbridge (alto sax, electronics); Mile Parr-Burnham (guitar, objects, synths); Adam Stapleford (drums)

A full house at Bobiks  created a great atmosphere for the first of the two weekend gigs in the upstairs venue within the Jesmond hostelry. First up saw local favourite Archipelago turn in a superb performance despite having to contend with a somewhat iffy sound system. A mellow start soon burst into a skronking high energy blast to send the room rocking. It was all high energy stuff. There were a couple of vocals from Faye MacCalman  and an eastern themed piece with Faye MacCalman on clarinet which featured a great John Pope bass solo.  A song full of loops with a highland twist saw Christian  Alderson on drums excel and bring the set to a splendid conclusion.

Kirk Lightsey Quartet @ Ronnie Scott's - Sept. 22

Kirk Lightsey (piano); Alex Hitchcock (tenor sax); Steve Watts (double bass); Sangoma Everett (drums) 

The great Kirk Lightsey last appeared on Tyneside something like fifteen years ago. This engagement at Ronnie Scott's presented an opportunity to hear the now octogenarian pianist once more. One of the few bebop pianists of his generation still performing, Lightsey graciously billed his quartet's appearance as 'featuring Alex Hitchcock', a quartet including his long-time bassist Steve Watts and drummer Sangoma Everett. 

Sugarfoot Strut @ The Morden Arms, Greenwich - Sept. 22

A first visit to the Morden Arms in Greenwich to catch Sarah Spencer's Sugarfoot Strut. Listed in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide as 'Unpretentious, without an external pub sign or even name', the Morden Arms is just that, a proper old boozer. Walking through the door fifteen minutes before the one o'clock start, the regulars didn't look round and the piano player didn't stop playing (actually, there wasn't one - pianist or piano!). A pint of the local Brockley Brewery's Pale Ale, a vacant bar stool to sit on, we were ready to go.