(Review by Russell)
Manchester ,
this was a first opportunity for a Tyneside audience to hear Jim Collins (alto & baritone
saxophones), Will Lenton (tenor & baritone saxophones), Helen Pillinger
(alto & tenor saxophones) and Helena Summerfield (soprano & baritone
saxophones). The quartet (+1, a
drummer), differed from the classic jazz horn quartet (World Saxophone Quartet,
29th Street, Saxophonics) in that a prominent folk strand characterised their
set.
Jazz North, the new jazz development agency for the north
of England ,
announced an open submission scheme designed to highlight the best of the
region’s jazz scene. Live Theatre in Newcastle hosted
the second of three showcase evenings (ACV represented the north east at the
first show in Liverpool ) with four bands to
hear. The event, open to all, attracted promoters, musicians and a few die-hard
fans of the music. Jazz North’s influence (perhaps it was luck!) secured the
prestigious venue for the evening.
HSQ+1 opened the programme. A quartet
from
Space Flight pushed the boundaries prompting
the But is it jazz? debate. A quartet
of three young musicians - James
Mainwaring (tenor), Tom Adams (guitar) and Radek Rudnicki (electronics) - processed their sounds through table-top and pedal board gadgetry.
Cavernous sounds echoed around the room as the fourth member of the quartet - Kuba Hader (video projection) - induced
nightmarish memories of Tangerine Dream. Cool, or perhaps not.
Third on the bill - Shatner’s
Bassoon - had visited Tyneside earlier in the year and made a big
impression. Yet another product of the Leeds ’
scene, this lot were great fun. Loud, talented, tight as, rehearsed to the nth
degree and given to frequent volcanic eruptions, Shatner’s Bassoon filled the
air with sulpherous sounds of molten lava. The Hub, Zappa and Zorn skewered
their victims with a dead-eye rapier thrust and this six-piece will chase you
down should you be brave (foolish?) enough to put your head above the parapet. Shatner’s Bassoon: Ollie Dover (tenor), Johnny
Richards (keyboards), Craig Scott (guitar), Mick Bardon (electric bass), Andrew
Lisle (drums) & Joost Hendrickx
(drums). The final band - Ariya
Afrobeat Arkestra - didn’t quite do what the name suggested. Not so much
Sun Ra more like Fela Kuti. Incessant rhythms (Paul Baxter, bass, excellent) combined with riffing horns (Si Nixon, impressive trumpet) made for
a danceable finale, if you were so inclined. The nonet: Peter Williams (tenor sax & bass clarinet), Leon Johnson (tenor), Martyn
Strange (baritone), Si Nixon (trumpet), Taz Modi (keyboards), Neil Innes
(guitar), Paul Baxter (electric bass), Joost Hendrickx (drums), Kris Wright
(percussion). The Northern Line
road show moves on to a venue in Yorkshire
(date and venue to be confirmed).
Russell.
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