Jam Session @ The Empty Castle - November 20

(Review by Steve T).

Relocated from the Empty Shop to Durham Castle for one night only and a guest musician relocated from Birmingham for a sleep.

Logistics meant by the time I got there with a guitar it was already in full swing and sounding good.

Matthew Jacobs, playing keyboard, seems to be chief organiser in amongst his degree in maths and physics, which is pretty impressive in itself.

Dylan Purdes held on to the bass for the night and Will Elias was the second of two drummers but the other escaped before I could accost him. The tenor player who was up when I got there also got away.

Time for the locals to infiltrate and number one son didn't need to be asked once. Young Ben Lawrence had declined to bring a trumpet but Matthew managed to coax him behind the keyboard.

Some sound problems meant the next piece turned into a guitar trio - no problem - but once sorted, Ben looked and sounded great, all Glaspered up from his encounter with 'the great man' at Sage Gateshead last Thursday. Give him a vocoder and no doubt he'd have been singing along.

Matthew returned armed with a melodica for an inspired version of Hubbard’s Red Clay. The melodica was a toy instrument until reggae genius (not a word I use lightly) Augustus Pablo turned into a frontline reggae instrument.

For a reason nobody quite understood, the bar suddenly closed at 10pm but through the night they'd played Have You Met Miss Jones? All the Things You Are (obviously), There Will Never be Another You, The Girl from Ipanema, How High the Moon, How Insensitive, Anthropology and Mr PC.

Whether at the salubrious Castle setting in Palace Green, or the earthier Empty Shop in the heart of Durham City, this could turn into a classic night if the locals support it, both musicians and audience, through the coming together of the North East Jazz scene and students from potentially anywhere in the world.

Steve T.