Biscoe & Co @ King’s Hall. November 28

Chris Biscoe (alto & soprano saxophones, bass clarinet), John Pope (double bass) & Roger Turner (drums)

(Review by Russell).

Lunchtime, King’s Hall, free admission, a freely improvised performance. Hall a little more than half full (a number of students absent – they must have met their mandatory number of concert attendances for the semester and were still in bed). Tyneside’s John Pope, a recent graduate of Newcastle University, no doubt felt at home as he stood between two of the key figures of the British free scene. Pope, the cat with the hat, looked cool. Perhaps inside his stomach was churning. 

Chris Biscoe (reeds) and Roger Turner (percussion) have played more free jazz gigs than Pope has had hot dinners! For the first of three pieces Biscoe played alto saxophone. Roger Turner, obscured from view by rows of attentive listeners, sounded just like Roger Turner – scuffling across the snare, bells a-ringing, a snap of the wrist changing direction, building momentum. Pope intermittently picked up the bow, adding new textures. A second piece heard Biscoe’s quicksilver soprano work and it became clear the young man of the trio felt at home in this company. Biscoe’s bass clarinet closed the concert with a flourish as the trio shook the ivory towers around them with some spirited playing. Portraits of the institution’s big wigs from down the years looked down on the scene. Who knows what they made of it all? Perhaps some of the present day luminaries will make it to Sage Gateshead tonight to hear Biscoe & Co or if you will, the Collaborations Trio, in a double bill with Sonsale.  

Russell.