Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor saxophone), Paul
Edis (piano), Andy Champion (double bass) & Adam Sinclair (drums)
(Review by Russell).
Vasilis Xenopoulos was taking no chances. On his last visit
to the Traveller’s Rest in Darlington he made
it in the nick of time (seven hours on the M1).This time, London-Darlington by
train appeared to be a better bet. Vasi X (typing Xenopoulos a number of times
could result in a case of rsi) arrived in good time (3:30pm!) and took time out
to check-out Darlington town centre (TK Maxx a
major attraction).
The Traveller’s Rest is a comfortable roadhouse pub in
Cockerton on the outskirts of town. The Ferryhill Brewery a guest at the bar,
talk of jazz, festivals, birthdays, a lost wallet, a pleasant way to spend a
half hour or so waiting for Vasi and co. to complete their soundcheck in the
upstairs room. A queue formed long before the doors opened, winding its way
down the stairs. A queue at a jazz gig!!! The place was packed, beer flowed, jazz
deity looked down from the walls – Dizzy, Lady Day, Tubbs, Zoot et al – ready
to commune with the Greek God of Xenopoulos.
Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Bobby Timmons. Then the Great
American Songbook. Vasi X knows his stuff and mixes it up to great effect. A
bop workout, a ballad, waltz tunes, an impromptu request – nothing gets by him.
Tiny Capers opened the show with Vasi
in spectacular form. His solo didn’t elicit mere applause. It was greeted with
full-throated cheers the like of which aren’t heard at your regular jazz gig.
Vasi shared the stand with long-time friend Paul Edis. The acclaimed north
east-based pianist played a blinder (what’s new?) and is a headline attraction
in his own right. Superb playing; the anticipating accompanist, a razor sharp
ear to the main man’s tenor inventions and solo flights par excellence. Talking
of accomplished soloists…Andy Champion was on the gig. As rhythm sections go,
the phrase ‘first call’ springs to mind. Working alongside Adam Sinclair, they
constituted the dream team. Champion as accompanist was as good as it gets –
‘on-the-money’ playing, an abundance of technique held in check. And then,
stepping up to solo – if there is a better bass player in the
Vasi mined the Blue Note catalogue. Lee Morgan’s Cesora (from the Cornbread album) a gem, Champion broke a string and played on. Our
tenor man took a request (affording Champion time to re-string) and in doing so
re-examined Summertime (a familiar
tune, a new perspective). A steaming Dat
Dere had one thinking it couldn’t get any better. Opus 4 Jazz Club patrons
were having a ball. Their cheering had to be heard to be believed. No polite
applause for them, this was 52nd
Street , Darlo-style!
The interval; bar staff run off their feet, chatter,
chatter, Guitarist Tom Stephenson (soon to further his studies with Tommy Smith
and co.) was in the house and was knocked-out by the first set. He wasn’t
alone! Vasi and Edis had their respective latest CDs available at the door
(both come highly recommended), made themselves available to chat with the Opus
4 regulars and the second set couldn’t possibly match the first, could it?
Second set. Groove
Merchant (it’s on Vasi’s Wind Machine
album) upped the stakes. The standard impossibly high, the excitement levels at
fever pitch, your reviewer decided the listening experience was everything (pen
and note pad lay dormant). Sit back and enjoy, you only live once. Manteca
Russell.
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