Paul Edis Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. August 17

Paul Edis (piano), Mick Shoulder (double bass) & Adam Sinclair (drums)

(Review by Russell).

On leaving the Black Bull at the end of the evening one astute listener said: Paul was inspired tonight!  Pianist Paul Edis is at the top of his game and one wonders what the future holds. The intimate jazz club setting will continue to offer Edis opportunities to play but what of the bigger stage (the concert hall platform)? Piano trios are big news, they’re everywhere – Sage Gateshead, the London halls, the Big Apple, splashed over double page spreads in the jazz press. If there was any justice Edis would be landing at JFK ahead of a headline appearance at the Village Vanguard!

Back to reality…a windswept crowd arrived at the Black Bull (a couple travelled from Cumbria) to support Roly Veitch’s efforts to present ‘the very best of jazz’ (as Humph would have said). Edis, double bassist Mick Shoulder and to quote Simon Spillett, ‘the sartorially elegant’ Adam Sinclair (drums) ran through a few things as the regulars took their seats, exchanged greetings and ordered pints of Black Sheep, Deuchars IPA, lime and lemon and the new breed of musicians’ favourite tipple – pints of water.

What Is This Thing Called Love? embraced all the required components – low-level volume, the telepathic interplay of the working unit, invention, solos, fours as they should be. Piano players of note were in the pad – Michel Legrand (You Must Believe in Spring), a Duke and a Monk, Tadd Dameron, George Shearing and Edis. Bags’ Groove showcased Mick Shoulder’s immaculate, subtle soloing. Stompin’ at the Savoy, taken as a samba, heard the master of the brushes Adam Sinclair playing with open hand. Did the Savoy ever hear it as samba? One up to Blaydon Jazz Club!

Edis’ intro to Satin Doll teased; the melody in there, drawn out, then the solo! Book that flight to NYC! Bill Evans featured twice – Very Early and Funkallero. Dave Brubeck’s Unsquare Dance (with the handclap) rollicked along in a Brubeckian way, From Nothing to Nowhere (a tune salvaged from the drawer in Edis’ study desk – the one marked ‘work in progress’) heard the composer, head bowed, deep in concentration. I’m Old Fashioned was anything but, similarly the timeless Rhythmining and to close the evening, Benny Golson’s Whisper Not. The Paul Edis Trio can be heard regularly at the Jazz Café in the heart of Newcastle. Check Bebop Spoken Here regularly for news of the next one.

Blaydon Jazz Club’s September concert – Sunday 21 September – is a big one. Roly Veitch and others have kept the show on the road for thirty years and to celebrate Veitch (guitar and vocals) teams up once again with pianist Jeremy McMurray. Their quartet (Neil Harland, double bass and drummer David Francis) will work with two long-time friends – the Teesside Delta-based Mark Toomey (alto) and Noel Dennis (trumpet and flugelhorn). A full house would be just fine.           

Russell.