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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 2025).

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

17777 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 98 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Feb.8).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Tue 11: Steve Summers Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Free. Inc. Olly Styles (tenor sax).
Thu 13: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: Artist Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Hannabiell & Midnight Blue.
Thu 13: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 14: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 12:30-1:30pm. £5.00. at the door. New second Friday in the month concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Archipelago + Anna Tempest @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Jones & Dave Kelly @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 14: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Fri 14: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 15: Elkie Brooks @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘The Long Farewell Tour’.
Sat 15: Milne Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 16: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Saturday, November 21, 2020

Paul Edis: Time & Place LJF live stream - Nov. 20

Paul Edis (piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Tony Kofi (tenor sax); Adam King (double bass); Pete Adam Hill (drums) 

(Screenshots courtesy of Jerry)

BSH planned to attend this Hampstead Jazz Club performance only to be thwarted by Lockdown 2.0. Fortunately this year's EFG London Jazz Festival was able to deploy its not inconsiderable resources to make most, if not all, events available online. Paul Edis regularly works with singer Jo Harrop and now that our exiled Geordie pianist is based in London he was able to extend an invitation to his friend, and occasional musical collaborator, Tony Kofi to join him and Jo in revisiting Time and Place
The lights were low as Edis took to HJC's snug stage alongside bassist Adam King and drummer Pete Adam Hill. Harrop stood in front of the trio with saxophonist Kofi seemingly socially-distanced in the wings. The project is, to  a degree, self-explanatory...themes of time and place. Twelve compositions - a mixture of standards and originals - were given a flawless reading. Edis and Harrop obviously familiar with the set list, less so, Kofi, King and Hill, and it is to their credit that they fully contributed to a successful evening. 

And so to the theme...Time After Time (music Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn). Those who have heard Jo Harrop sing knew that this first number was likely to be good. It was better than good, more like fabulous. The first of two Vernon Duke classics -  Autumn in New York - suggested the musicians on the stand were fully immersed in the music, King and Hill reading the charts, likewise the man in the wings, tenor saxophonist Tony Kofi. 

Three Edis compositions followed, one after the other...Madeira (a hair-raising tale of a mountainous bus journey!), Embrace the Silence (first heard on Tyneside with Edis directing Sage Gateshead's youth jazz ensemble Jambone) and, with a nod to Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Long Way Round. BSH is familiar with the above songs and one thing is for sure, familiarity doesn't breed contempt. In fact, they seem to get better with each hearing! 

Harrop sang beautifully on Michel Legrand's Once Upon a Summertime and then it was Edis' turn to impress on Vernon Duke's April in Paris. If any of the London jazz crowd didn't know about Paul Edis, they do now. Brilliant! 

Edis' Breathing (from a Darlington Jazz Festival commissioned suite) heard more from Tony Kofi in what sounded like waltz time. At this juncture it became apparent that brevity was the watchword - excellent musicianship all round, executed with commendable concision. Jo Harrop, the lockdown lyricist, emailed Edis some words to see what he could come up with. Twenty four hours later, the duo had a new tune to perform to an audience. An audience...what's one of those? Ah, yes, people gathering together to share in the magical experience of live performance. Well, it almost happened here at Hampstead Jazz Club, almost, but not quite. Next best thing, via the medium of the live stream, we, the audience, heard What If? We look forward to being present the next time Edis and Harrop perform it!

We were nearing the end of this evening's concert. Edis' Rome Wasn't Built in a Day (Edis leaving the singing to Harrop, Harrop leaving the piano playing to Edis), another Edis-Harrop lockdown composition If I Knew performed as a duo, then to close, Edis' Wise Words reunited the quintet. Gospel-infused, concise, all had been said and done. An excellent set, we look forward to hearing it again when we're part of a capacity audience. Next year, believe it.
Russell        

1 comment :

JERRY said...

If anyone missed this excellent gig, it still seems to be available here:

https://www.facebook.com/HJCJazzClub/videos/2129518460505144

Well worth a look and listen.

JERRY

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