It was time to put the frustrations, not to mention heartbreak, of lockdown behind us. Months of inactivity for many musicians is gradually coming to an end and the long-awaited, reshuffled Newcastle Jazz Festival finally got under way at Flat Caps Coffee in Carliol Square. A double bill of scratch pairings - Ruth Lambert and Ian Paterson and Pete Tanton working with Lloyd Wright - entertained both the hardcore jazz fan and Flat Cap Coffee's regular patrons.
Ruth Lambert (guitar, vocals); Ian Paterson (bass guitar)
I'm Old Fashioned sang Ruth...all was well with the world! Skylark brought a tear to the eye with bassist Ian providing subtle accompaniment to our vocalist's beautifully crafted lyrics. Helen Humes' dirty blues You Played on My Piano could have shocked some, fortified by little more than an Americano or English Breakfast Tea, it appeared no one covered their ears! To close this Friday afternoon session at this year's Newcastle Jazz Festival, Ruth and Ian went out on Oscar Brown's Northern Soul hit The Snake. NJF 2021 is up and running!
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A common denominator of the afternoon's session was the musicians' not unexpected revelations that this was their first gig in eighteen months. Earlier, the Tanton-Wright partnership opened and closed proceedings with an ornithological theme.
A blackbird inspired Tanton original and Paul McCartney's Blackbird bookended some forty five minutes of largely original material. Amiable trumpeter Pete, equally adept on flugelhorn, sang several numbers in beguiling manner - Tell Me When it's Safe to Open My Eyes a highlight - and the similarly amiable Lloyd, fleet of finger on the fretboard judiciously deploying the use of a loop pedal, made for an entertaining set.
As Newcastle Jazz Festival goers left Flat Caps Coffee thoughts turned to the evening's set piece occasion up on Barras Bridge - Alice singing Ella F with the Strictly Smokin Big Band. Russell
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