It was going to be an I'm Old Fashioned jam session. Best laid plans 'n' all that don't/can't take account of who the sitters-in are likely to be. From one session to the next it's anyone's guess who'll turn up. And that's the attraction of these fortnightly sessions in Newcastle Arts Centre, isn't it?
The hardcore turned up - Abbie, Harry, Showtime, Edgar, Ian et al. New faces showed up, as did a university vacationing Early Bird alumnus. As the Black Swan began to fill up, the house trio - Messrs Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger and Paul Wight - attended to business, Harry Bemsha Swing Keeble the first to throw his hat into the ring. Richard Rutherford set up the familiar, pulsating bassline to The Chicken, Abbie Finn spelling southpaw Wight, David Gray leaping up to grab a piece of Jaco's classic number.
The revolving door nature at the Black Swan picked up apace - the two tenors of John Rowland and Steve Summers on Zawinul's Mercy, Mercy, Mercy, young punk drummer Felix Parkin-Christie getting stuck in. One sensed our recent jam session debutant is beginning to get the hang of it. At fifteen, if that, taking courage, sitting-in, this is what it's all about!
Guitarist Laurence Harrison was in the house, his one brief contribution this evening reaffirming his A-list status. A scribbled note read: Pianist? BSH card at the ready, the mission was to get his name. Kabakov, Dan Kabakov, is the name. It's amazing how someone can wander in, new to it all, and sit-in as they do. From Herbie Hancock funk to Viv?/Vic? (BSH let the side down, failing to get her name) singing Moon River (the bonus being Dean Stockdale was once more occupying the piano stool). And in amongst it all, a cameo appearance by one-time Early Bird bassist, Alex Shipsey. It was good to see Alex, home for the summer from his studies in Bristol.
The Black Swan's revolving door can have a dizzying effect. Who's next? Ah, Johannes Dalhuitsen (tenor sax and curved soprano) on Jimmy McHugh's Don't Blame Me, Wayne Shorter's Footprints, drummer Chris Finney doing the business. And there was...Esther Combes (alto sax and clarinet), singer Ian Dreever, drummers Tom Parry-Jones and Michael Mather. And then, and then...Kit Giroux got up to sing the Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Up leapt Paul Wight to form a vocal duo with KG. Fantastic! Jazz? No, but it was fantastic! MC Paul Grainger thanked one and all, saying of the evening's entertainment: It's always as good as this! Russell
Dean Stockdale (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Paul Wight (drums) + (more or less in order of appearance) Harry Keeble (tenor sax), David Gray (trombone); Richard Rutherford (bass); Abbie Finn (drums); Felix Parkin-Christie (drums); Laurence Harrison (guitar); Alex Shipsey (double bass); Dan Kabakov (piano); John Rowland (tenor sax); ? (bass); Chris Finney (drums); Edgar Bell (cornet); Esther Coombes (clarinet, alto sax); Ben (guitar); Viv ? (vocals); Ian Dreever (vocals); Johannes Dalhuitsen (tenor sax, curved soprano); Tom Parry-Jones (drums); Michael Mather (drums); Kit Giroux (vocals)
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