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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

17655 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 929 of them this year alone and, so far, 74 this month (Dec. 31).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Sat 04: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. Xmas party (rescheduled from early December).

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 05: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Salty Dog @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Americana, jazz & blues.
Sun 05: Papa G’s Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Mon 06: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:00pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: John H Hammond.
Thu 09: FILM: Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 2:35pm. Documentary (dir. Johan Grimonprez) ‘about jazz, (de)colonial history and activism featuring Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Dizzy Gillespie’.
Thu 09: Happy Tuesdays @ Ye Olde Cross, Ryton. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 09: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 09: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. The session now monthly, next one Thursday 2nd Feb, then first Thursday in the month thereafter.

Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A Schmazz Night to Remember @ The Cluny - The Patrick Kunka Quartet.

Leah Gough-Cooper (alt/sop), Alan Benzie (kbd), Dylan Coleman (bs), Patrick Kunka (dms).
There have been many memorable nights at The Cluny and it has to be said that this last night was one of them - and for all the right reasons. Given that the four musicians are Boston based students of the Berklee College of Music or the New England Conservatory - the former being possibly the most prestigious jazz based music college in the world - it was inconceivable that they would be anything other than brilliant.
They were quadruple-brilliant at least!
Playing originals, mainly, but not all, from the pen of Kunka, plus a fine exploration of Coltrane's "Equinox", they delivered a powerful performance that bears comparision with anything that I've seen/heard at the Cluny. It was compelling stuff that rolled from the stage and totally engulfed the large audience in sheets of sound.
Leah Gough-Cooper, the name may conjure up an image of a viola player in a twee string quartet but the reality is completely different, the lady is simply one of the best alto players around anywhere. She delivered the goods lock, stock and two smoking barrel's firing phenomenal runs that took my breath away. A native of Scotland, we can thank our lucky stars she opted for sax instead of the bagpipes - imagine!
On piano, another Scot, Alan Benzie, also gave a virtuoso performance. His percussive style kept the tension at an all-time high as the Yamaha CP Series keyboard manfully withstood the beating - this guy can play. His solos challenged Leah's with their seemingly limitless flow of creativity.
Massachusetts own Dylan Coleman underpinned the procedings effectively as well as having meaningful solos. No mere walkman, Dylan's basslines were interwoven into Alan Benzie's solos with both sympathy and contrast. They were an outstanding duo as well as being an integral part of the unit.
This just leaves the leader - Patrick Kunka.
Patrick impressed, not just with his technical prowess; as funky or as swinging as the moment demanded, but also his arrangements and compositions. They were creative and imaginative whilst his drumming gave the band the lift it needed to sustain the high level of mindblowing solo bursts. His solos, never mere flashy displays, but forceful efforts that pushed the tension to almost unbearable heights. The adrenalin pump was at double max tonight.
For an encore, "What is This Thing Called Love?" proved the band's adaptability. Dave Weisser, sitting across from me, compared Leah's playing to that of Kenny Garrett and I don't think he was far wrong. This was a night to remember alright - one helluva night!
Lance.

7 comments :

Russell said...

Hi Lance

A truly great gig. The best I can remember at Schmazz.

Russell

jazzpazpanda said...

Lance
I have had the pleasure of seeing the Patrick Kunka Quartet perform in Massachusetts. This quartet is the real deal... full of excitement and surprise. I wish I had been able to see this show, but your review was the next best thing. Thanks!

Patrick Kunka said...

Thanks for the wonderful review.

byased said...

There's a better quality video (originally from the Aberdeen Evening Express) available from a gig at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen.

Wish I'd got to one of their shows: the clips are pretty impressive.

scrabbler said...

I hope to hear and see more of this excellent quartet.

jazzpazpanda said...

Scrabbler, if you want to hear more, the PKQ has released a cd. The only site I have found the Patrick Kunka Quartet CD,The Edge, available is at http://www.jazzcds.co.uk

Can't wait to listen to it in its entirety!

Unknown said...

I saw this lot at a gig in Cambridge, Massachusetts, back in May and I was also at the Cluny. I thought they were very impressive the first time and the extra experience on the road since then has forged them into a very fine unit indeed. Hope their next trip this side of the Pond takes in the Cluny again - well done Schmazz.

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