Katherine Stone Quartet/Dean Stockdale Trio @ Ashington Jazz Club August 7.

Dean Stockdale Trio.

Dean Stockdale (pno); Neil Harland (bs); Steve Doyle (dms).

(Review by Peter S.)

With the passing of time and the years sadly our Jazz Artistes pass away, as you will have  noticed in Bebop Spoken Here. Fortunately they leave behind a legacy of great recorded music which remind us of our younger maturing years, while today through the media we can still look back and recall so many talented performers. It is also a delight to know that their music and styles can influence younger musicians today across the world and also here in the North East. These talented youngsters keep our music alive and we are grateful for this.

The AJC, therefore anticipated something special on Wednesday when the Dean Stockdale Trio gave a reflection of the life and music of Oscar Peterson.

We were not disappointed and with instrumentalists of this calibre our nostalgia was rewarded and our musical appetites nourished. Dean impressed on his Nord Piano and with skillful support from Neil Harland on Bass and Steve Doyle as percussionist our imaginations were aroused with superb renditions of O.P. memories. Personally I could have listened much longer to this brilliant ensemble working together as a team but the first set ended leaving us time to assess what we had just heard. Brilliant.
Programme - Blues Etude, Canadian Suite-Wheatland, Suchi, When Summer Comes, Kelly's Blues, Love Ballad, Cake Walk, and Hymn to Freedom.

Katherine Stone Quartet.

As above plus Katherine Stone (vcl).

After the interval the Trio experienced a metamorphosis returning to the stage as a Quartet with the delightful vocalist Katherine Stone making her second visit to AJC. Once again she delivered a great selection of lyrics from the American Song Book with confidence and style and her backroom boys decorated the presentations with  consummate professionalism. The audience showed appreciation for the variety of the programme and applauded spontaneously. Once again we tasted the rich choice of Jazz talent here in the North and I hope you get out there and give your support. Excellent.
Programme - Besame Mucho, Cheek to Cheek, My Heart Belongs to Daddy, I've Got You Under my Skin, Misty , I Get a Kick Out of You, The Way You Look Tonight, Hit the Road to Dreamland, Fly Me to the Moon, I Wish You Love, I Wish I Knew How it Felt to be Free, Spooky, and Route 66.

As the Duke would say "We love you, madly."

Above photos are by Peter Sanderson.
More photos here from Jim Fay.

Peter S.