Mejedi Owusu with the Francis Tulip Trio @ Blaydon Jazz Club - July 20

© John Lyons Photography

Mejedi Owusu (trumpet); Francis Tulip (guitar); Tommy Fuller (double bass); Noah Stone (drums)

A fifth and final gig in a run of tremendous gigs across the north east of England. As Blaydon Jazz Club put up the 'SOLD OUT' notices, the lucky ones with tickets began to arrive. The Black Bull comes into its own when there is a full house. What's more, on a warm summer's evening, the doors to the beer garden were open offering views up and down the Tyne. Quietly idyllic, it was.

Mejedi, Francis, Tommy and Noah were set and ready to go. Charlie Parker's Diverse (also known as Segment), Chick Corea's Windows, Tommy Flanagan's Freight Trane (from Kenny Burrell and John Coltrane), yes, a first set comprising three numbers. The four young musicians on the stand can certainly stretch out and that is precisely what they did, not only here on Bridge Street, but on all of their gigs. They know the material inside out, tight ensemble work and immense solo flights, trumpeter Mejedi and guitarist Francis the principal soloists.

Press release: The Annual Francis Davis Jazz Critics at Mid-Year has been published by Arts Fuse:

Francis Davis founded The Annual Jazz Critics Poll in 2006. It was published by The Village Voice through 2011. It has since been picked up by Rhapsody (2011-12), NPR (2013-20), and ArtsFuse (since 2021). The Poll was supervised by Davis through 2021, with various degrees of help from Tom Hull, who keeps it going, and manages this website. Hull wrote a history/memoir of the Poll up through 2022 here.

One change to the website as of 2023 is that album titles in the complete results and ballots files have a link (look for →) which will print out a list of everyone who voted for the album. From there, you can get to the ballots for each voter.

The Mid-Year Poll was inaugurated in 2024. The results here have no bearing on the End-of-Year Polls. While critics may vote for late 2025 albums, we do not factor 2025 votes into the Mid-Year results here.

R.I.P. Oliver Theophilus Jones, (1934 - July 22, 2026.)

The sad news has reached me of the passing of Canadian jazz pianist Oliver Jones.

One of the few pianists able to match his fellow Canadian Oscar Peterson's dazzling technique, north east jazz fans took him to their hearts over the course of three memorable gigs played for Jazz North East at the Corner House in Heaton, then the epicentre of local jazz.

1988, 1990 & 1991 were the years when Oliver Jones played there stretching the local bass and drums to the limit. Fortunately, I had the foresight to buy a 1984 Montreal recording - The Many Moods of Oliver Jones. Fond memories of a piano giant.

Oliver Jones was 91. Sadly missed. Lance

Mejedi Owusu with the Francis Tulip Trio @ Queen's Hall, Hexham - July 19

Mejedi Owusu (trumpet); Francis Tulip (guitar); Tommy Fuller (double bass); Noah Stone (drums) + Joe Steels (guitar)

A fourth concert in three days. Queen's Hall, Hexham hosts a monthly Sunday afternoon concert series and this afternoon there was hardly a spare seat going. All the way from New York City, trumpeter Mejedi Owusu was in town. What's more, so was guitarist Francis Tulip. Two great musicians, Mejedi and Francis were joined by two other fine musicians, bassist Tommy Fuller and drummer Noah Stone.

Album review: The Joymakers - A Texas-Sized Band (Turtle Bay Records)

Colin Hancock (cornet, alto/baritone sax, mellophone, kazoo, clarinet mouthpiece, vocals, arranger); Luke Allen (trumpet, vocals); Freddie Mendoza (trombone); Lauryn Gould (alto/soprano/tenor sax, vocals, arranger); David "Jelly" Jellema (C melody sax, clarinet, cornet); Dylan Blackthorn (piano accordion); Shane Dickens (piano); Westen Borghesi (tenor banjo, tenor guitar); Ryan Gould (string bass); Ryan Neubauer (drums)

In the beginning there was Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and now there is this!

In between, the original small groups expanded (as did the Joymakers) into larger groups such as Henderson and Ellington and Whiteman and Goldkette. Alongside these "name bands" were a variety of, often superior, bands who became collectively known as "territory bands" operating mainly in the southern states. 

Press release: Royal Albert Hall announces autumn series of Late Night Jazz

Courtesy of Rachel Knudson

After two packed winter and spring seasons of Late Night Jazz, the Royal Albert Hall has unveiled the next wave of acts to take to the Elgar Room stage across September and October 2026. With musicians hailing from countries including Peru, Korea, Sudan and Portugal, the 200-capacity venue will host one of its most diverse jazz programmes yet, with seven performances over five weeks.

First up in the autumn series is Tamar Osborn (Pictured) on Thursday 24 September. The saxophonist will celebrate the release of Varier: Berlin, the first instalment of Osborn’s Varier album cycle, and the first release under her own name, having been known previously as the creative force behind modal jazz ensemble Collocutor, with whom she released three critically acclaimed albums. Centred around the concepts of improvisation, collaboration and music for healing, Varier sees Tamar develop her exploratory approach to collaborative playing alongside some of the very best musicians in the global jazz and improvised scenes.

Greg Abate Quartet @ the 28 Club, Belper - July 19

Greg Abate (alto sax, flute); Neil Hunter (keyboards); Paul Grey (double bass); Ian Beeston (drums)

I was undecided about going to this event until the morning of the gig as the starting time had been brought forward to 4.30pm due to the football match. It also meant taking no less than five trains to get to Belper, a small Derbyshire village.Unbelievably the trains were on time and after leaving Handforth Station at 9.27am I arrived in Belper at about 2.00pm 

After a problem finding my booking which I had forgotten to confirm, this got sorted and I checked in to the Lion Hotel for two nights. I like the Lion Hotel as the food is good and the prices are reasonable plus the local station is close by. 

Mejedi Owusu with the Francis Tulip Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham - July 18

Mejedi Owusu (trumpet); Francis Tulip (guitar); Tommy Fuller (double bass); Noah Stone (drums)

A third gig in two days for Mejedi Owuso, Francis Tulip, Tommy Fuller and Noah Stone. Half way up Claypath stands Claypath Deli. Sourdough bread, pizza, beverages, a chilled vibe, all on a summer's evening. This evening, here in Durham, Mejedi Owuso, Francis Tulip, Tommy Fuller and Noah Stone were about to open a few eyes and ears.

As at Newcastle's Lit and Phil and Sunderland Minster, the high level musicianship had to be heard to be believed. In the up-close environs of Claypath Deli we (that's everyone) got a great view of what all four musicians were doing. 

Mejedi Owusu with the Francis Tulip Trio @ Sunderland Minster - July 17

Mejedi Owusu (trumpet); Francis Tulip (guitar); Tommy Fuller (double bass); Noah Stone (drums)

A second gig of the day for Mejedi Owusu (NYC), Francis Tulip (London), Tommy Fuller (Basel) and Noah Stone (Oxfordshire). A sold out lunchtime concert at Newcastle's Lit & Phil couldn't have gone any better and it would take something special here at Sunderland Minster to top it. 

The Lit & Phil gig confirmed how we imagined things would go: extended solos, principally by Mejedi Owusu and/or Francis Tulip, supported by the stellar rhythm section of Tommy Fuller and Noah Stone. Three or four numbers each set, their solos works of art, Mejedi firing from the lip with endless invention, Francis cruising in the fast lane, a match for any six-stringer.

Album Review: Jun Iida – Bellflower (OA2 Records)

Jun Iida (trumpet, vocals, composer); Zelda Harris (vocals); Chris McCarthy (piano, Rhodes); Masami Kuroki (guitar); Giulio Xavier Cetto (basses); Jongkuk Kim (drums); Takafumi Nikaido (congas)

With Bellflower, his second album, trumpeter/composer Jun Iida (Joon-Ee-da) presents us with a collage of his musical reminiscences, brilliant tonal statements and sensitive musical observations. It gives us ten original tracks, nine of which emanate from Iida’s pen and all superbly performed by Iida and his cadre of outstanding musicians,