Save the best for last has always been a good game plan and never has that proved more so than the final set of this year's Newcastle Jazz Festival and, I say that with all due respect to the other performers who have
made this weekend such a great success.
From the opening few bars of the soundcheck (Blue Monk) the word that screamed at me was class! This was it - the real deal.
Jay Phelps is the greatest trumpet player I've heard since Roy Hargrove - maybe even going further back to Dizzy. Think Fats Navarro, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard - Jay Phelps is in that league and miles ahead of the rest.
A nicely balanced mix of standards, modern jazz classics and originals. A lyrical I Can't Get Started didn't do Bunny Berigan any harm but, without Berigan's vocal and his grandiose flourishes it offered a more than acceptable alternative.
Of course, behind every great soloist there's a rhythm section and tonight's crew were handpicked to perfection. Even then, the easy going Canadian inspired them to lift their game even higher. This was the absolute pinnacle of a meeting of great minds - so different from some of those gigs at the Corner House way back when, when fading visiting Americans would give the local boys a hard time. Jay Phelps is world class and didn't need those ego trips. On tonight's showing, I reckon Dean, Andy and Dave could hold their own in NYC - AFM permitting!
If you missed this gig - and we know who you are - all I can say to you is, "na-na-na-na-na"
Syeeda's Song Flute; This I Dig of You; I Can't Get Started; Everyone's Ethnic; Salute to the Band Box; Blues Connotation. -----
Prior to the Jay Phelps' set, Sue Ferris gave us some timely reminders of how great a musician Gerry Mulligan was and what a great a sax player Sue herself is. Due to an assortment of reasons Collingwood and Grainger were last minute replacements but it didn't show. Along with Walker they provided Sue with the wings to fly and she soared. Off the top of my head I can't think of any neighbourhood jazz bari players who could challenge Sue - it wasn't that long ago that she took Alan Barnes to a split decision.
Walkin' Shoes; Rocker; Festive Minor; Rico Apollo; Line For Lyons; Cariocca; Out Back of the Barn. ----- Gerry Richardson Quintet: Gerry Richardson (Crumair Mojo keyboard, vocals); Garry Linsley (alto sax); David Gray (trombone); Paul Smith (drums); Graham Hare (congas, perc.)
Last night Ross Stanley hired a Pickford truck (joke) to transport his vintage Hammond organ and two Leslie speakers to play with two trombones.
Gerry had a more compact keyboard with ne'er a Leslie in sight and only one trombone but boy did they do the business!
Gerry hit the road travelled by Jimmy McGriff and Jack McDuff - is he the best jazz organist in the UK? He gets my vote and he's always good for a vocal or two.
David Gray is the loose canon in the band. Every solo he takes he goes for the jugular. Triple tongued passages at amazing speed, tonal variations, he's a crowd pleaser which is what music, and jazz in particular, needs. Apart from the musicality he's got the stage presence, the moves. He could be auditioning for West Side Story brandishing a trombone instead of a flick knife.
By contrast, Garry Linsley is Daddy Cool. His emotions remain hidden even when he's in full flight. Is he thinking about the next lick or how long he has left on his parking meter?
Money's Gettin' Cheaper; Mercy, Mercy, Mercy; African Sunset; Soul Shadows; Sunny - Lance
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