Mouth of the Tyne Festival: Tynemouth Metro Station - Northern Monkey Brass Band - July 9

Graham Hardy (trumpet); Alistair Lord (trumpet); Andrea de Vere (tenor sax); David Gray (trombone); Jason Holcomb (trombone); Phil Rosier (tuba); Adam Sinclair (snare drum); Brendan Murphy (bass drum)

Metro to Tynemouth...on time for once. The sun shone...more so than yesterday. The annual Mouth of the Tyne Festival never fails to attract a crowd and Sunday's schedule on the station platform and along Front Street at the Jazz stage drew large numbers. 

The train arrived bang on time, two minutes later - 12 noon - the Northern Monkey Brass Band opened proceedings in customary fashion. Having dispatched his troops to all four corners, bandleader Graham Hardy's rallying call evoked the sound of Buddy Bolden (who knows how the legendary figure actually sounded?) and N'Awlins' jazz. One by one Hardy's Northern Monkeys blew in response, some folk milling about caught unawares! Hardy arranges the material, composing some of it, respectful of the tradition yet very much of the twenty first century. 

An unlikely Electric Dreams, the Jackson 5's I Want You Back, then the Hardy originals, including the excellent Funky Pie, all performed energetically, not to mention expertly. The regular Monkeys - horns and drums -were on board and debutant dep Andrea de Vere, blowing tenor, did a great job. Listening to the Northern Monkey Brass Band made for a great start to the day here in sunny Tynemouth. Russell