Paul Edis @ Jazz café, Newcastle – November 17.

Paul Edis (piano).

(Review by Jazzbelle/Photo courtesy of Brian Ebbatson).

Thirty adults and a child aged one, gathered upstairs in Newcastle’s Jazz Café to hear a lunchtime solo piano recital by Paul Edis.

Disarmingly apologetic, Paul’s modesty belies his outstanding ability as a composer and player. As well as the wonderful set he served up, the audience enjoyed his anecdotal accounts of how his pieces were composed. The sound level for me was just right, slightly amplified.

Comments on individual pieces:

Just Like Me: Paul’s pounding and rhythmic bass line restrained and held his wilder, quirky top line well.

Nothing to Nowhere was, as Paul explained, constructed by piecing together different compositions producing thoughtful, slow, melodic cadences.

The idea for On the Spot arose when Paul was put on the spot recently at The Sage when performing with Zoe Rahman, but this was its first public performance. Heart rockingly lyrical from the start, it developed in flowing and leaping trickling melodies, reminding me of a waterfall.

Lucky 11: This ballad, Paul’s wife’s favourite composition, could be described in one word – ravishing!

Cerebral demonstrated inverse melodies eloquently.

Vignette, which had been in Paul’s “pending” tray for 5 years, featured echoes of In a Sentimental Mood by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane to whom Paul paid tribute. ”We all borrow from one another,” he said.  This was another heart-stoppingly melodic work with a lilting refrain, unbelievably sweet.

Laurie was written for a 21-year-old waitress with whom a mid-forties Bill Evans had fallen in love.  Full of hope and yearning, Laurie was loaded with tumescent chords and a thoroughly romantic feel.

In Henri Mancini's Days of Wine and Roses, Paul did not put a finger wrong as he delivered a stride piano number. 

One Note Samba, Antonio Carlos Jobim’s iconic number, was full of delicious samba rhythms and we were given a treat of an encore with Paul’s rendition of When I Fall in Love, written by Victor Young for the film One Minute to Zero and also recorded (among others) by Bill Evans.

What a perfect way to spend your lunch hour!

Jazzbelle