Alan Barnes & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. September 19

Alan Barnes (alto & baritone saxophones, clarinet) & Paul Edis (piano)

(Review by Russell/Photo by Ken Drew from the evening gig at Jazz Café).

Another full house. You Stepped Out of a Dream, I’m Old Fashioned, One Note Samba. Pianist Paul Edis invited reeds maestro Alan Barnes to travel ‘up north’ to play a couple of gigs. The first of them in the studio theatre at the Gala, Durham attracted yet another capacity audience…’What’s New?’ you might say.

The presence of Alan Barnes signalled a step change in the profile of musicians invited to perform at the monthly lunchtime session. The region’s finest have played fine sets at the venue, but a musician as well known as Alan Barnes indicates how successful the venture has become. 

From the start this was a swinging session. Edis at the Roland RD-300 and a wise-cracking Barnes alternating between alto, baritone and clarinet, strolled through the hour-long performance delighting the crowd with superb improvisations on standards and a couple of Edis’ compositions. Barnes introduced Edis’ For Bill telling the audience Bill Haley was the inspiration. The reedsman reached for his spectacles saying he would take the opportunity to plug his spectacles sponsor…the 99p shop! The one-liners never fail to make people laugh. Is there anything better than Barnes’ often self-deprecating jokes and the wonderful music produced by the musicians on the stand? The room afforded Barnes the opportunity to play acoustically – clarinet in homage to Bill Evans and again on Have You Met Miss Jones? Earlier AB opened on alto on Brown and Khan’s You Stepped Out of a Dream then switched to baritone on I’m Old Fashioned (Kern and Mercer). Barnes told a tale of confusion between a baritone and bass saxophone, adding that Bruce Adams once suggested it was: The same old crap, just an octave lower.

Edis suggested they play Moonglow. Barnes suggested Edis play the first chorus. What a treat! The melody, stride piano, fabulous interplay. Another Edis composition – Lines – found Barnes reaching once again for his specs. This one’s difficult he said, showing the sheet music to the audience. It did look a little complicated. AB said it looked like ripped out knitting or a cross section of black pudding! Needless to say he (and Edis) played it superbly. Highlights were many, not least Wes Montgomery’s West Coast Blues (Barnes on alto) and, of course, the one-liners.

You can hear Edis and Barnes again tonight at the Jazz Café on Pink Lane in Newcastle. They will be working with the excellent bass and drums pairing of Paul Susans and Rob Walker. Eight o’clock start in the upstairs room, admission on the door £10.00.         

Russell.