Album review: Jeremy Sassoon – Older And Wiser (Self-released)

Jeremy Sassoon (vocals, piano); Chris Rabbitts (bass) Pat Illingworth (drums); + Mike Walker (guitar); Pat Levett (harmonica solo);Steve Parry (flugelhorn), Ross Stanley (Hammond organ); Harry Greene (nylon guitar); Natalie Williams. Brendan Reilly (backing vocals) and Realstrings arranged by Pete Whitfield

The first question is what time of day do you want to play this? Late evening when lights are low or early Sunday morning as the sun burns off the mist? It’s perfect for both times and many others. First hearing suggest that this is supper jazz but you wouldn’t want to dine, you’d want to listen, and insist that everyone else used wooden cutlery and ate off paper plates.

Part of this album’s strengths lies in the song selection. None are originals but all play with moods, tragic, mainly but mixed in with some hope and, even, low levels of celebration, all to illustrate the many ages of man. This range from despair is captured in Don’t let Me Be Misunderstood with plaintiff vocals giving way to a string wrapped piano solo, the lushness offset by the interpolation of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells/Exorcist theme. Stop This Train deals with the eternal stay/escape dichotomy with Sassoon’s light tenor working its way through all the options. The next song is Mose Allison’s City Home with its longing for home decorated by some lovely organ playing by, the near ubiquitous, Ross Stanley.

Preview: Neil Cowley Trio "Built on Bach" @ the Fire Station - April 21

It was just under a year ago that the Neil Cowley Trio played an absorbing and enjoyable concert at the Glasshouse. Now, just under a year later on April 21 the Neil Cowley trio can be heard in concert at Sunderland's cultural epicentre - the Fire Station.

This promises to be another intriguing and exciting event based as it around the work of J.S. 'Mighty' B. In other words John Sebastian Bach.

However, this is no "jazzin' the classics" mashup but original compositions by Cowley inspired by the music of the great man. There's no clue in the titles but the discerning and knowledgeable listener may make a few inspired guesses as to the source.

Whatever, it promises to be a musical treat for both jazz and classically minded enthusiasts alike. Lance 

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Jo Harrop - Upstairs at Ronnie’s – March 3

Jo Harrop (vocals); Jamie McCredie (guitar); Sam Watts (piano)

There are rooms that suit an artist, and then there are rooms that feel as though they were built for them. Upstairs at Ronnie Scott’s is one such space — and for Jo Harrop, it proved nothing short of perfect.

There is an immediacy to the room: low-lit, tightly framed, with the audience almost folded into the performance itself. It is a listening room in the truest sense, not a space for grandstanding but one for nuance, breath, and emotional detail. That is precisely why it worked so profoundly well for Harrop.

From the opening moments, accompanied by Jamie McCredie on guitar and Sam Watts at the piano, the tone was set. This would be a performance of restraint, of space, and of deep musical trust. Harrop  has never been a singer who forces a room into submission. Quite the opposite — she draws you in. Her voice, soft-grained and emotionally transparent, sits just above a whisper, yet carries a quiet authority that demands attention without ever asking for it.

Jazz on the Tyne Welcomes Noa Levy, Paul Edis & 'Portrait in Evans'

In the latest edition of the podcast, presenter Colin Muirhead talks with vocalist Noa Levy and pianist Paul Edis about their new album ‘Portrait in Evans’ and their upcoming tour. Together with tracks from that album, you’ll hear music by Jo Harrop, Zoë Gilby, Fergus McCreadie, Joe Webb, Louis Stewart, and Sam Robinson.

You can listen to the show anytime HERE.

Plus, you can request music for future programmes, or pass on news or feedback by emailing Colin at jazz.tyne.hive@gmail.com or by heading to www.jazzonthetyne.org.

The Soul Family with Natalie Williams and Daniel Pearce @ Ronnie Scott’s Main Room – March 24

Natalie Williams (vocals); Daniel Pearce (vocals, percussion); Robin Mullarkey (bass); Ben Jones (guitar); Martyn Kaine (drums); Phil Peskett (keys); Mark Brown (sax); Ben Edwards (trumpet)

There’s something quietly familiar in the way many of us arrive at jazz — not as a first language, but as something discovered over time. It rarely begins here. More often, it starts elsewhere — in pop, in rock, in soul — before something shifts. The edges soften, the space between notes begins to matter, and gradually, almost without noticing, the music asks more of you… and gives more in return.

 

It’s a journey that feels particularly aligned with the writing of Sting. His songs have always carried that elasticity — harmonically rich, rhythmically fluid — but often framed just outside the jazz world. Place them in a setting like this, however, and something clicks into place. They don’t feel reworked; they feel understood — almost as if they’ve been waiting for this context all along. As Natalie Williams herself remarked, this music might be considered a guilty pleasure — though there’s nothing guilty about loving Sting.

 

WE'RE BACK!

Keep up to date with BSH and feel free to submit your articles, reviews and blog posts. Lance 

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass & Other Delights In Concert @ The Tilles Center, Brookville, New York - March 25

Herb Alpert (trumpet, vocal); Kris Bergh (trumpet, bells); Ryan Dragon (trombone, bass trombone); Bill Cantos (piano, keyboard, vibraphone); Kerry Marx (electric/acoustic guitar); Hussain Jiffry (electric bass); Ray Brinker (drums, percussion).

The insomnia was definitely all Herb Alpert’s fault. It was a cacophonous mashup of Spanish Flea and Whipped Cream ear-worming endlessly in my brain as I tried in vain to sleep last night. That’s because earlier, I had attended the aforementioned legend’s live concert at Long Island’s Tilles Center. The production, entitled Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass and Other Delights was a two-hour retrospective of Alpert’s greatest hits delivered masterfully by Alpert and a terrific group of younger musicians, all the while synching perfectly with a multimedia madcap recap of everything Alpert - Herb horning, his artwork, him kibbitzing and dancing with everybody - from Armstrong to Bacharach, Carpenter to Mendes, the Muppets and even Zorba’s Anthony Quinn.

Gerry Richardson Quartet @ the Lit & Phil - March 20

© Patti

Gerry Richardson (organ, vocals);  Garry Linsley (alto sax);  Rod Sinclair (guitar); Graeme Hare (drums).

Another Friday at the Lit and Phil and another full house sold out weeks ago. If you want a ticket for these monthly Friday concerts, you have to be quick off the mark. Today the offering was the well known and well respected Gerry Richardson leading a quartet with a mixture of soul, funk, jazz and blues.

Everyone seated, announcements made, and then wham! straight into Ben Tucker's Comin' Home Baby. A tune long associated with Herbie Mann and Mel Tormé, this blues classic set the scene for things to come, no prisoners were to be taken, just hold onto your hats and enjoy the ride. There were blistering solos aplenty  from Gerry, Rod Sinclair and Garry Linsley.  Graeme Hare, sitting in for  regular drummer Paul Smith (on tour with Lindisfarne) looked very comfortable behind his kit and was obviously enjoying himself, no more so than when he led the band into African Sunset, a Richardson original.

Stockport Jazz

This Sunday Stockport Jazz welcomes the Al Scott Trio with special guest Richard Iles on trumpet/flugelhorn. The trio comprises Al Scott on piano and Johnny Hunter on drums, with George Burrow on bass.

Sunday 29th March 2026

8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

BSH Temporarily on hold

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