Key Moments 3

(By Ann Alex)

I didn’t come into jazz until after the age of 50 or so. Making me a very late entrant, which I regret.

Childhood age 7 to 11 - Heard loads of the jazz standards on the radio, picked up lots of the lyrics but didn’t like the songs much, nor did I understand the love songs. I did enjoy Hard Hearted Hannah as I loved the image of her ‘pouring water on a drowning man’. Children are cruel!  

Teenage years – liked listening to Brubeck’s Take 5, Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk. Considered Ella Fitzgerald to be a ‘good singer’, but, really, preferred classical singers.

Fast forward to my 20’s, became passionate about English traditional folk music at folk clubs, many of  the songs are written in modes, and also heard lots of Blues, which I learned to love almost by a sort of osmosis. Never listened to jazz at this time – it was and often still is frowned upon by folkies.

Fast forward to 2008 -2010. For something to do, I enrolled in some Jazz Appreciation classes held for adults at Newcastle Uni,  The class was taught by the late Chris Yates, lovely man, who didn’t laugh when I asked him if I could get the Great American Songbook out of the Library!

January 2010 approx. I bless the day I went to a taster session at Sage Gateshead, for Jazz Singing, taught by Lindsay Hannon. I’ve always sang and I took to this straightaway (I’m not saying I was any good mind) but I loved the singing, so joined Lindsay’s Blue Jazz Voices’ class.  

Another landmark was becoming a member of the Jazz Coop based at the Globe. This introduced me to some of the ‘machinery’ that goes into putting a gig on. The things the listener never sees or, probably, never thinks about.

The rest is history, it was onwards and upwards as I explored jazz and extended my listening. The folk music modes came in handy for listening to Miles Davis and I knew many of the lyrics that we sang at Blue Jazz Voices, which I’d picked up by default in childhood. I was already familiar with the Blues element in jazz. The great god of jazz had prepared me well throughout life! 

Outstanding Gigs and Performers

Far too many to mention, although I realise that I’ve missed loads that came before my time. I love hearing all the local women singers and Lindsay Hannon singing Angel Eyes is hard to beat, as is Fiona Finden doing You Don’t Know What Love Is. My latest admiration is for Julija Jacenaite who gives charismatic performances at Jazz Cafe Tuesday Jam sessions, for instance her singing of All Of Me. Recently she has extended her home base so catch her when you can – you won’t regret it.

As for instruments, Lance persuaded me to listen to Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue CD, well worth it; I happened to hear Polar Bear late on the radio last year and had to have their CD In Each And Every...

Brubeck’s Time Out CD is still a favourite. I remember an outstanding gig last year at the Globe with the band Zhenya Strigalev, a brilliant free (ish) type of jazz. I always enjoy hearing the younger jazz musicians such as the band Jambone at Sage Gateshead. Which brings me to the most outstanding gig of recent weeks, which was The Francis Tulip Quartet at the Globe. I’m glad to say that jazz is certainly safe with the new generation.  

Ann Alex.