Krysztof Urbanski - The Urban Jazz Society @ Bridge Hotel, Newcastle. April 13.

Krysztof  Urbanski (ten/alt); Martin Longhawn (pno); Sam Vicary (bs); Sam Gardner (dms).

(Review by Lance/Photos courtesy of Ken Drew).

If Johnny Hodges had played tenor, tonewise, he may have resembled Urbanski particularly in the latter's opening, unaccompanied, introduction to Nature Boy. Paradoxically, when Urbanski did play alto in the second set he sounded nothing like Hodges!

Nature Boy was the only non-original composition, the rest were mainly from the pen of the leader who never fails to impress with his big saxophone sound and technique to match.

On keyboard, Longhawn - a new name to me - proved to be yet another star in the making to emerge from that cauldron of culture known as Leeds. The Two Sams are frequent visitors to Tyneside and both were in scintillating form. 

The band are going into the studio tomorrow to record an album. If it is anything like the music heard tonight then it will be worth checking out.

A very satisfying evening. These Splinter sessions continue to provide a cross section of modern jazz from across the region and beyond and are deserved of the support of all jazz fans.

Next week it's one of the home teams in the form of Peter Gilligan's Quintet playing the music of Horace Silver.

Lance.