Bradley Johnston (gtr); Katy Trigger (bs gtr); Russ Morgan (dms).
(Review by Lance).
Great North Run weekend. Newcastle awash with visitors - thousands of them! So why didn't some of them jog down to The Globe? One assumes that a small percentage of these athletes would be into jazz.
It would appear not. The only Great North Runner present was me - backdated to 1981!
Most of the Jazz Coop regulars were absent - no doubt in training - but, nevertheless, the audience numbered at least, twice as many as the number of musicians on stage which was a plus. On the minus side, if it had been held in the upstairs jazz bar the few would have seemed more and anyone jogging by would have been able to slake their thirst without coughing up a fiver!
Musically it was brilliant. The three players are now so well established on the local scene that I can understand the Coop's expectation of a decent turnout.
However, the best-laid schemes...
The Music.
Bradley opened up with a solo rendition of Send in the Clouds, as arranged by Louis Stewart and he did the late Irishman proud despite the fact that the clowns didn't arrive. Straight into All the Things You Are and the trio is firing on all cylinders,
Here's That Rainy Day; Blues For BJ, composed for Bradley by his mentor and often duo partner James Birkett, Body and Soul and Donna Lee brought the set to a close.
Over the river, at the Prohibition Bar in Gateshead, Emma Fisk's Hot Club du Nord were playing so maybe that's where the guitar fans had migrated to.
Still, I'd have thought there'd have been enough of them to fill both venues!
The second set began with The Waters of Tyne. A traditional tune dating back to 1793, Bradley gave a sensitive and emotive interpretation which, him being a Wearsider, must have been difficult!
Coltrane's Giant Steps; Bird's Blues For Alice; Metheney's Farmer's Trust; Four Brothers and Cherokee completed the set.
All three players excelled. Bradley is developing so rapidly that, if he'd been a runner, he'd have been challenging Mo Farrah. Russ simply astounding and Katy as inventive a bass guitarist as you're likely to find in any lineup.
Photos.
Photos.
Lance.
So wish we could have been there but we already had tickets elsewhere. Why was there so much great music on last night?
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