Matt Anderson (tenor & soprano saxophones) &
Paul Edis (piano)
(Review by Russell).
Westgate Hill; Excuse
me. Could you tell me where I can find Summerhill Bowling Club?
Ah! You’re going to Vamos! (Kid Creole the attraction!). Turn right and follow the noise.
The spell of fine weather broke late afternoon.
Newcastle’s party animals were out on the town. Hens and stags partied
(high-heeled giraffes, rhinos, Roman togas), the well-heeled sought a
pre-theatre al fresco option, the discerning drinker was on the CAMRA trail,
the non-discerning (seven abreast, less the ‘good’, more like the ‘bad’ and
‘ugly’) fixed their steely gaze on the next boozer (any boozer) up ahead. And
then there was jazz, jazz, jazz.
The Vamos! event had its share of coconut
wearing/shaking jazzers making a buck, Scots descended on the Globe for some
serious jazz, Zoe and Stu played seriously good stuff in the Vermont and then
there was Matt Anderson and Paul Edis.
Leeds-based Anderson has become a familiar, welcome,
face on Tyneside and this renewed acquaintance with pianist Paul Edis promised
to be a meeting of compatible musical minds. The Jazz Café pulled a good number
of folk. Some had yet to hear the duo. At the end of the evening some were
still to hear Anderson and Edis. Chatter, chatter. Quick! Send another text.
That makes it three thousand today! No matter, those who listened (a good
number did) heard two fine musicians play a selection of standards and no fewer
than three of Edis’ tunes.
Moments Notice, Like
Someone in Love, some Edis, some Jobim, a sublime Embraceable You (Anderson superb – your reviewer’s notes read!!! That’s the equivalent of five
stars in Down Beat). The set had
balance to it – these guys know what they’re doing – and the outer, Tenor Madness, achieved the desired result…Phew!
A rhino waddled by, a Balkan accordionist stopped, thought better of it,
and moved on, the curious looked in, a typical Pink Lane Saturday night.
Some were in the Caff specifically to hear Edis, some
were there to catch Matt Anderson for the first time – either way they were onto
a winner. The musicians have the ability to get inside a tune; to explore, to invent,
to surprise (to surprise one another). They played it acoustically. Tenor
saxophone heard above the intermittent din, the piano (and pianist) sounding
good.
Second set. Straight into You Stepped Out of a Dream. Wonderful. Just how do they do it? Murmurations (comp. Edis) had Anderson
reading the dots. Advanced reading ability, no doubt about it. Edis excelled on
You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To (!!! rating), the jousting duo engaging
in a friendly chase. Anderson switched to soprano on Maiden Voyage. Fabulous playing, both reeds and keys. Edis’ ballad Ballad (as good a title as any other) served
as the penultimate number of the evening. Invitation
closed the evening. On this showing the Jazz Café will surely extend a
further invitation to the duo of Matt Anderson and Paul Edis.
-----
Earlier, the Vermont Hotel’s Redwood Bar hosted a
wedding reception. The newly weds and guests departed, the Chesterfield-plush
venue sighed in relief. A popped champagne cork lay hidden under a table, snug on
the deep pile carpet sprinkled with wedding cake crumbs. A lone quaffed glass
awaited collection, hospitality staff doing their best to look busy behind the
bar.
At the piano, Stu
Collingwood suggested he Don’t Get
Around Much Anymore. Suitably suited, Collingwood was fulfilling an
engagement with the divinely dressed Zoe
Gilby. A class act, the piano/vocals duo chose tunes they liked, tunes the
hotel’s guests would like. Gilby impressed on God Bless the Child, interpretation and understanding of the lyric
to the fore. It would be good to report a full house. The truth of the matter
is this is a hotel booking – top performers, the event largely unknown to the
outside world. Lullaby of Birdland, I Thought About You – you get the
picture. The next time you’re in town and fancy listening to some top quality
jazz check Bebop Spoken Here before you set off. Days and times vary (four
o’clock, six o’clock, seven). It won’t cost you a penny (unless you choose to
buy a drink) and you can sink into a Chesterfield for a few minutes or a couple
of hours, the choice is yours. The short walk from the Vermont to the Jazz Café
humming Dindi was never less than
entertaining. Party people on the street – sashed last-night-of-freedom
gluttons, tanned, plunging necklines, teetering heels. And you should have seen
the women…
Russell.
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