The Gideon Tazelaar Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth - Oct 21

© Patti

Gideon Tazelaar (tenor sax); Joe Steels (guitar); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); John Hirst (drums)

A first opportunity to catch tenor saxophonist Gideon Tazelaar. Funding from the Dutch authorities ensured the Julliard graduate's UK tour would be financially viable and this Blyth Yamaha Music School concert would be the first of two performances today.

Bassist Arnie Somogyi has been working on an Ellington project which will be recorded next week.* Recruiting guitarist Joe Steels and drummer John Hirst to play the northern dates - Blyth and Blaydon - guaranteed the material would get a good workout. A set of just forty five minutes made for a lean performance comprising five numbers. Tazelaar's secure, straight-down-the-middle tenor playing on In a Mellotone set the tone, this was going to be a joyful three quarters of an hour. 

Sunday night @ the Globe: The Magpies of Swing - Oct. 20

© Russell

Elise Rana (vocals, drums, washboard); Lara Hopper, Polly Curbishley (trumpet); Lachlan Fotheringham (soprano sax, clarinet); Neil Hopper (trombone, drums); Fiona Finden (tenor sax, vocals); Stu Finden (baritone sax); Alec Gamble (guitar, vocals); Anders Ingram (guitar, guitar/banjo vocals)Alan Law (piano); Owen Jones (double bass); Olga ? (flute, vocals); Niffi Osiyemi (alto sax, vocals); Jenni ? (alto sax) + Chloe, Kay (vocals)

The swing dancers were out in force - man can they do the Lindy Hop - I was exhausted just watching them! Still, with a band like this who couldn't/wouldn't want to dance? Peppered with soloists and singers, the hits and near-misses of the '20s, '30s and '40s were given the hottest work out since the Palomar Ballroom in L.A. burnt down.

Album review: Perfect Stranger - Unfinished Business (Spark)

Chris Sansom (MD,composer, bass guitar); Adam Bishop (alto/soprano sax, bass clarinet, flute); Mick Foster (tenor/soprano sax, flute); Shanti Jayasinha (trumpet, flugel); Tom Green (trombone); Alcyona Mick (keys); Rob Millett (vibes, perc.); Eddy White (guitars); Paul Michael (bass guitar); Jonas Golland (drums).

Perfect Stranger was initially conceived by Sansom in the early 1970s whilst studying for his B.Mus. He visioned creating music that defied convention, music that challenged both player and listener, not with 'pet shop' sounds but in the complexity of his compositions and arrangements.

Among those original musicians was the late Peter Jacobson. Pete, as he was known on the Newcastle scene and beyond, made a powerful impact  on Tyneside jazz before moving down to London. On Unfinished Business Samson has revived his original idea to the extent that now, fifty years on, it has emerged as a classic work that transcends genres. Fittingly, the first movement of his four-part suite, Life and Times (of a Perfect Stranger), Formative Years is dedicated to the memory of Peter Jacobson.

Album review: The Joymakers - Down Where the Bluebonnets Grow (Turtle Bay Records)

Colin Hancock (cornet, trombone, alto sax, baritone sax, vocals); David Jellema (clarinet, C melody sax, cornet, vocals); Lauryn Gould (alto sax, tenor sax, soprano sax, vocals); Dylan Blackthorn (accordion); Weslan Borghesi (tenor banjo); Shane Dickens (piano); Ryan Gould (bass); Ryan Neubauer (drums)

Texas born with UK ancestry, Hancock came to 1920s' jazz indirectly when his British grandfather bought a Bix record after hearing it played by some American GIs who were 'over here' during World War II. Later, now in Texas, 8-year-old Colin heard his dad playing his grandfather's record and became hooked himself and the rest is history. Well maybe not ...

Pete Tanton's Chet Set @ Sunderland's Old Black Cat Jazz Club - Oct. 18

Pete Tanton (trumpet, flugelhorn, vocals); Alan Law (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Mark Robertson (drums)

The Churches Conservation Trust looks after more than 350 churches of historic interest. 1719 in Hendon, Sunderland is one of them. The church, dating from 1719 (hence its name), is at the very heart of what is known as 'Old Sunderland'. Lottery money has helped restore and transform the building into a splendid cultural venue and once a month the candlelit Old Black Cat Jazz Club welcomes jazz fans from across Wearside and beyond. This evening it was all about Chet Baker. Perhaps the jazz icon holds appeal beyond that of the 'jazz community', whatever the reason, 1719 attracted a large crowd. 

Press release: Clare Teal Five @ Gala Theatre, Durham - Oct. 25

She’s back! Expect exhilarating swing from award winning jazz vocalist and long time Radio 2 & Jazz FM broadcaster Clare Teal and her marvellous band who return with a fabulous new show as ever celebrating the hits and hidden gems of the Great American and British Songbooks, plus contemporary covers and originals. The concert will also include favourites from her acclaimed DVD The Fireside Sessions.

Press release from the Saltburn Big Band

Please see the fabulous Saltburn Big Band performing No Moon at All, sung by the equally fabulous Bridget Metcalf, during our recent sellout concert at St. Peter and St. Paul Church in Stokesley. 

 

The band is next appearing at Saltburn Community Theatre on the evening of the 27th of October.  Tickets can be purchased HERE. Adrian Beadnell

The Olivia Cuttill Quintet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University - Oct. 17

Anonymous

Olivia Cuttill (trumpet, compositions); Issey Chivers (vocals); Tom Harris (piano); Fergus Quill (bass); Miles Pillinger (drums).

When I took my seat in the King's Hall Recital Room in Newcastle University for a 45 minute lunchtime concert little did I think I was about to witness one of the 'Gig of the Year' contenders. After all, there's some mega names in the running already - and the opening number, Isabella, did nothing to change things. Don't get me wrong, it was fine, Cuttill displaying a big round sound on an interesting composition but the (musical) Earth didn't move for me.

Album review: Al Jarreau & NDR Bigband - Ellington (ACT)

Al Jarreau Vocals)+ NDR Bigband: Thorsten Benkenstein, Ingolt Burkhardt, Nicolas Boysen, Reiner Winterschladen (trumpets); Fiete Felsch, Björn Berger, Christof Lauer, Frank Delle, Tini Thomson (reeds); Dan Gottshall, Klaus Heidenreich, Stefan Lottermann (Nov. 26), Günter Bollmann (Nov. 29) (trombones); Ingo Lahme (trombone/tuba); Hans Vroomans (piano/Rhodes); Peter Tiehuis (elec. acoustic guitar); Christian Diener (basses); Wolfgang Haffner (drums); Jörg Achim Keller (MD?arranger); Joe Turano (vocal arranger).

I've heard Ellington performed in every which way including loose but never quite like this! Some purists might class it as sacrilege - I almost did. However, the trick I found is to forget every bar of Ellingtonia you've ever heard and treat it like you're hearing it for the very first time. Judging by the applause I guess that's what the enthusiastic audience did.......and so did I!

The Black Swan jam session - Oct. 15

Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Bailey Rudd (drums) + Niffi Osiyemi (vocals); Olly Styles (tenor sax); David Gray (trombone, vocals); Abbie Finn (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Lara Hopper (trumpet); Liam Oliver (guitar); Robert Johnson (alto sax); Alexia Gardner (vocals); Dan Potter (drums); Oscar Nolan (piano); Ian Drever (vocals); Esther Coombes (alto sax, clarinet); Neil Hopper (double bass); ? (guitar); Shayo (vocals); Jack ? (drums); Becky Tuck (vocals); Moyo (guitar); Darius (vocals); Theo Nolan (drums)

Freshers' week has been and gone, student hangovers a thing of the past...until the next time. Judging by the large student turn out at last night's Black Swan jam session, with the bar staff working non-stop, this morning it's likely the cry 'never again' will be heard across student halls of residence.