Riley Stone-Lonergan (tenor sax); Deschanel Gordon (piano); Will Sach (bass); Will Cleasby (drums).
If nothing else, Covid has brought us closer together - virtually, that is, not physically. Even before the pandemic, many of the musicians who were and still are household names in London and points south didn't always venture further north than Leeds and, when they did, they quite often managed to get to Edinburgh without touching down in Newcastle.
Thus the enforced lockdowns and the emerging livestreams have, in effect, brought the whole world into our listening area and, in doing so, not only put faces to names but also familiarised us with their music so that, hopefully, when we next see a gig advertised we won't be saying "Who?"
The four musicians blowing up a storm tonight at Smitty's were simply phenomenal. Stone-Lonergan, listed tonight as Riley Stone, blew some of the most blistering, paint-stripping tenor since...? Well, er, since the last time I heard him! Smitty's is rapidly turning into a "tenorment" building - Xhosa's there tomorrow night and Alec Harper will be along shortly - you can bet on it!
A year ago I'd never heard of Desch Gordon but, after a gold medal at the BBC Jazz Olympics 2020, he's now a name to tick on the ballot papers.
Wills Cleasby and Sach have been the cornerstone of many gigs at KS and tonight was no exception. Cleasby swung his ass off, Sach didn't - somebody had to look after the "bottom end" and few do it better.
The solos were long but nobody yawned this was excitement guaranteed. Over at Ronnie's I'd heard good reports about Heidi Vogel (see previous post) but, with the numbers so disproportionate between the two venues, it made me think. Up here on Tyneside there are many "fans" who regularly attend jazz concerts at Sage Gateshead who are never seen at smaller venues such as The Globe or the Black Swan. I guess it's the same the world over.
Stone-Lonergan blowing Three Little Words was up there with Sonny and Lonnie's Lament was as close as anyone's going to get to Trane until the next Messiah arrives - maybe he already has!
The opener, Monk's Teo sounded strangely like Kern's Yesterdays - presumably a contrafact with better changes. Shorter's Yes and Now and Bird's Bloomdido saw us out.
Monk, Trane, Rollins, Shorter and Bird! On top of that, I had my second vaccine this morning - two shots in the arm in one day, no wonder I'm on a high!
Lance.
(Above collage by Ken Drew, the individual screenshots are by a promising apprentice).
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