Corey Mwamba (vibes); Dave Kane (bass); Johnny Hunter (drums)
(Review by Steve/photos courtesy of Ken Drew)
Sunday nights in Newcastle will never
be the same again. After 5 years showcasing the most interesting and
stimulating jazz from far and wide, Splinter have had to call it a day.
Although supported by a loyal hardcode audience, the overall numbers attending
made the project simply unsustainable.
Fittingly, the final gig was a memorable
one as Corey Mwamba’s trio Yana played to a packed house. Corey started off
proceedings by thanking Zoe and Andy for all their hard unsung work and
everybody applauded wholeheartedly in agreement with his sentiments.
The formalities now over, the music
was able to commence and a magnificent landscape of sound began to evolve. Each
member of the band clearly seemed to be enjoying the experience of playing with
one another as they responded quite intuitively to what was going around them.
So much so that when a bird chorus started up outside the bay window, Mwamba
was able to improvise a tweeted echoed response with a tiny Indian whistle.
I have seen many world class vibes
players - Joe Locke, Gary Burton, Bobby Hutchinson, Roy Ayers to name just 4 -but
I have never seen anyone use the instrument in such a unique way as Mwamba. He
may play with anything between zero (his hands) and 6 mallets and in any
combination thereof whilst simultaneously moving around the instrument like a
hyperactive gazelle. Occasional primordial screaming and the playing of wooden
flutes and pipes further augment the performance. It’s by no means classic vibe
playing in the style of the aforementioned maestros but Corey lays down a
driving groove full of interest and every so often there was to be a burst of
simply beautiful sounds. Hunter and Kane are perfect accomplices and at the end
of the evening all 3 musicians appeared to have enjoyed the evening as much as
the highly appreciative audience. In fact in a display of affability, the
charming trio seemed more than happy to hang around and chat to people after
the show.
Finally, I would also like to
personally thank Zoe and Andy (seen left with JNE's Paul Bream) for all their hard work in promoting such a
wonderful cornucopia of music over the years. I have seen some absolutely
amazing gigs and also some not so brilliant but they have all always been
interesting and well worth the nominal admission price. However out of the
ashes of the splinters a phoenix may yet arise as Jazz North East hopes to be
able to programme Sunday night gigs in the not too distant future - funding
permitting. So, sadly, the end of a splendid era! It was most odd saying goodbye
to so many people that I had shared so many extraordinary evenings with, but it
has to be said “it has been a blast”. 
2 comments :
An excellent review, Steve. You catch the sweet/sad atmosphere of the last Splinter session very well. And Yana were the perfect group to play the final show as they encapsulated much of the great spirit of these sessions - superb musicians, intuitive interplay between them, lots of creative and exciting improvisation and nice rapport with the audience. Like all good 'wakes' a large crowd of relatives, close friends and distant acquaintances turned up to have a few drinks, celebrate the last five years and say goodbye.
As it can sometimes be a thankless task to turn up every Sunday night to arrange chairs, organise the sound system and take the admission money, as well as being responsible for making the music happen, I would like to echo Steve's note of appreciation for all that Zoe and Andy have done and say thanks for the many terrific nights of jazz. As a singer once sang "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone'. I'm missing Splinter already.
JC
A fitting review by Steve. Had it been written before the gig maybe more would have been attracted to the captivating atmposhphere described therein, and joined us for a crackin gig ?? I would also like to echo Steve's note of appreciation for all that Zoe Champion and Andy Champion have done in broadening our musical horizons, and say thanks for organising the many wonderful and enjoyable nights of jazz at The Bridge Hotel.
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