A Jazzy Christmas @ Sage Gateshead - Dec 22

It's become something of a tradition. Paul Edis invites a group of friends over to play some seasonal songs. The venue just happens to be Sage Two, that's Sage Gateshead's intimate cockpit-like space, and, here's the thing, several hundred people turn up to listen. All three tiers sold out some time ago, and with Covid-secure measures in place, everyone set about enjoying themselves. 

At eight o'clock, to a rapturous reception, Edis and company took to the stage. O Come, All Ye Faithful opened the show, and what a show it would be! Edis' hand-picked ensemble hit the ground running, our MD marshalling proceedings with his customary light touch and good humour. The first of two consecutive Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn numbers - Let it Snow - introduced the fabulous Jo Harrop. Intimate duo performance or swanky 'big do' gig, Harrop is the singer for this kind of gig. And this 'do' was somewhere in between - an intimate arena teeming with a 100% mask-wearing audience. Oh, yes, Let it Snow, an excellent arrangement featuring Matt MacKellar's infectious Big Easy drum pattern. 

Harrop momentarily departed the stage as the ensemble struck up Carol of the Bells. It isn't every day a jazz gig features a piccolo solo yet here in Gateshead we got just that. Megan Robinson set up a riff and set about improvising on it. Piccolo jazz! Cue thunderous applause. Santa Baby had to be in the set list, and it was. Excellent. A marvellous first set drew to a close with Sleigh Ride, Graham Hardy, trumpet, and Matt Anderson, tenor sax, stepping out of the horn section to bring down the metaphorical curtain. 

The interval: 'Hello' to Jo and Paul (they were out front signing 'merch'), your correspondent first in the queue at the bar, a chat with several of the usual suspects, teasing Steve T about his Christmas jumper. Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Second set: No one had left, despite being subjected to Paul Edis' terrible Christmas cracker jokes. Chris Rea's Driving Home for Christmas resonates with a Tyneside audience, given that the composer is from 'up north' (Teesside). Frank Loesser's What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? found favour with all present ('Bah! Humbug! suspended momentarily), Harrop sensational, Matt Anderson having a blast. 

A solo piano piece. Joy to the World. Edis somehow incorporating the history of jazz piano into his performance, from Fats Waller stride to swing to bop by way of Oscar P, to the modernists. Cue deafening applause. Emma Fisk brought in O Tannenbaum with a few bars of Vaughan William's The Lark Ascending. Outstanding, but no surprise there, violinist Fisk is a true virtuoso. It was almost time to go, but not before a sing-a-long farewell. From 1934, Winter Wonderland. A tune for all ages, a tune for kids to big kids. Where's that Santa hat? And that was it. Not quite. A foot-stomping, cheering (not easy behind a mask!) crowd won an encore. The Christmas Song. Perfect. Same time next year? You can bet on it.                                       

Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Matt Anderson (tenor sax, soprano sax); Faye Thompson (alto sax, clarinet); Megan Robinson (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone); Emma Fisk (violin); Francis Tulip (guitar); Andy Champion (double bass); Matthew MacKellar (drums)

Set list: O Come, All Ye Faithful; Let it Snow; The Christmas Waltz; White Christmas; Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree; Carol of the Bells; Santa Baby; Sleigh Ride; Driving Home for Christmas; O Holy Night; What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?; Joy to the World; O Tannenbaum; Winter Wonderland; The Christmas Song. 

A Jazzy Christmas will be performed a second time at Hampstead Parish Church this evening (7:30pm, Thursday 23 December) with an all-star London-based line-up (Paul and Jo will reprise their roles). See: www.pauledis.co.uk.  Russell