'58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool - July 28

Kevin Eland (trumpet, flugelhorn); Dan Johnson (tenor sax); Django Zazou (trombone, vocals); Dave Archbold (keyboards); Ron Smith (bass guitar); Mark Hawkins (drums) + Jan Spencelayh (vocals)

The Studio on Tower Street used to be home to Musicians Unlimited's weekly Sunday lunchtime session. Now, just across the road, Hops and Cheese is the place to go to hear some jazz. Last Thursday in the month it's the '58 Jazz Collective plus guests. This month the sextet would be joined by vocalist Jan Spencelayh. 

Arriving shortly after the seven thirty start the compact micro pub was doing good business. A handful of empty seats, some familiar faces - Hello, George - and a glance at the beers on the bar...Allendale's Black Grouse the pick. Band MC, Django Zazou, invited Jan Spencelayh to join the boys to sing the first of several numbers, Irving Berlin's Cheek to Cheek. It would soon become apparent that someone - in the band or otherwise - had taken the trouble to arrange the numbers giving the '58 guys a distinctive group sound.  

Hoagy Carmichael's Skylark (lyrics Johnny Mercer), That Ole Devil Called Love, an exposed My Funny Valentine, Jan S was in good form. The band's featured soloists - Kevin Eland and Dan Johnson - were in great form with Eland particularly effective on flugelhorn. It had been a while since BSH last heard tenor man Johnson - probably a Durham Alumni Big Band gig, perhaps a Musician's Unlimited session. It's a pity DJ doesn't get up to BSH's Tyneside base, he'd impress more than a few ears. Jerome Kern's I Won't Dance paired Jan S with the conversational-style vocals of trombonist Django Zazou (now there's a name to conjure with!).

Second set, Sandu, Straight No Chaser featuring knockout solos from Eland and Johnson and an exchange of fours with Mark Hawkins, all good stuff. Jan S returned for more, including a rather good 'S Wonderful. The Hops and Cheese session usually winds up at ten o'clock, your correspondent obliged to make a sharp exit shortly before in order to catch the 22:00 train to Newcastle. The '58 Jazz Collective convenes once a month (last Thursday, seven thirty prompt). It's a 'jar on the bar' arrangement, a contribution of the folding stuff is in order. Russell