Sage Gateshead International Jazz Festival Debbie Harrry, The Jazz Passengers, The Northern Sinfonia. Friday March 25

Debbie Harry (vcl). The Jazz Passengers: Roy Nathanson (alt/ten); Curtis Fowlkes (tmb); Bill Ware (vbs); E.J. Rodriguez (perc); Brad Jones (bs); Sam Bardfield (vln).

Northern Sinfonia conducted by Robert Ziegler.
(Photo courtesy of Mark Savage).

The Jazz Passengers began this concert in fine form to a full house in Hall 1, playing an up tempo number with lively African influenced vibes, and a free jazz feel from these superbly talented musicians.

Unfortunately, that was the high point of the concert for me.

This was billed as a song cycle, and songs were about subjects such as Economic Malaise; Sad Story; and even one about losing your mind. Debbie Harry sounded to me more like a cabaret singer than someone doing jazz, apart from her first song, a standard - Imitation of a Kiss.

Roy Nathanson (pictured above - centre) introduced each item but I had difficulty making out some of what he said, and didn’t catch the off-beat comedy which was mentioned in the Sage programme. The solos played by The Passengers during the songs were very effective however, especially from trombone and sax.
The Northern Sinfonia, played well with a mostly ‘string’ sound, but I was wondering what they really had to do with the rest of the performance, as it seemed that too many disparate elements had been forced together for this event. I’d have preferred to see the three elements separately; Debbie Harry doing pop, which she does well; the Jazz Passengers doing esoteric jazz; and the Orchestra keeping away from esoteric jazz musicians and playing accompaniment for jazz standards. It’s the same problem that symphony orchestras have with folk music; it seems to me that the two just don’t mix.
The concert was well received and Debbie Harry got an encore, so maybe I’ve missed something. I’d love to hear from someone who enjoyed this concert posting their views.
Ann Alex.