Normally, when I’m off
out to listen to some jazz, I set my compass for the south east and head to the
bright lights of the greater Tyne & Wear metropolis. Not so on this cool
(in so many ways) evening when a quick 180 degree re-calibration found me heading
for the ancient town of Rothbury for the third presentation by Coquetdale Jazz
at the Newcastle House.
The first issue was obtaining a ticket. The handbills and adverts advise that tickets are available from Tully’s Delicatessen. Having no trips to Rothbury planned I feared that this would be local jazz for local people and only people from the valley would be welcome. Contact through the Facebook page secured me a seat without the need to produce evidence of residency.
The room itself, usually
the dining room at this fine establishment, was adorned with all the usual Jazz
Club requisites, namely a well-stocked bar a large picture of an elephant and a
food allergens notice. It also had lots of people… and a quartet of some of the
best musicians in the North. I have been listening to Lewis Watson over the
years, going back beyond his time as a stalwart of the magnificent Voice Of The
North Jazz Orchestra, sadly an early victim of Tory austerity, so I wasn’t expecting
an evening of Kenny G covers. There’s always a concern that in deciding the set
list for a new venue the musicians may decide to play it safe and play
something too ‘nice’. Thankfully, not on Tuesday in Rothbury they didn’t.
The opener, Wayne
Shorter’s Yes or No, was played in
the full blooded style that would characterise the evening; Watson blowing
looong notes down towards the lower register, Champion’s running bass driving
from the back, Williams’ solo built from fleet
solo notes and occasional bends. Watson’s own Time Passed slows the pace a little. Williams contributes a lovely
filigree of a solo, Champion’s solo on bass marches up and down the neck,
adding in occasional repeated lines that are developed and then abandoned for
something else. A fluid solo by Watson leads us out and into an unaccompanied
solo of wild blowing covering the full range of the instrument’s voice and that
leads us, in turn, into Song For Keith, another
Watson piece, this time with a Latin groove. A lovely dancing guitar solo
builds in repeated lines leading to a release as Williams takes off. The tenor
solo swings as the energy level climbs to more furious blowing. Champion’s solo
bounces, full of snap, a bass solo you can dance to. Watson comes back in and
his playing becomes more complex and knotty as the band breaks out free behind
him until only bass and sax are left challenging and duelling with each other.
Watson introduces No Light, No Tunnel with talk of those
times in life when nothing is going well. It’s a dark, melancholy blues with
Bradford dropping bombs at the back behind loud, declamatory sax playing. It’s
blues for a dark night under the bridge. Even though Watson's solo builds to the
point where there are suggestions of positivity it still retains its blue edge.
Williams’ solo is heavier than anything he’s played heretofore; more stately
and more angular; Champion’s solo is also sparer but is another one to dance
to.
The second set opens with
Hand In Hand, another Watson tune.
This is a solid piece of hard bop that opens with a brief nod to Sack o’ Woe. Bradford is busy on the
drums behind Watson’s long lines. Bradford takes precedence with a solo of
solid fills and rolls and exploding cymbals. Champion hitches a ride and his
solo leads us into Coltrane’s The
Promise. We’re still firmly in a hard bop vein with a bit of a funk shuffle
on the side. Watson plays a charging, packed solo and hands off to Williams for
a lovely flowing solo that almost matches Watson for energy.
George Adams’ Autumn Song follows. It’s a warm and
mellow piece, (mists and fruitfulness anyone) but it doesn’t lapse into easy
listening. Then it’s back to Coltrane with Liberia
which opens with gentle sax over a rolling boil from the rest of the band
then it all takes off and Watson delivers a rocking, driving, tumultuous solo.
Williams picks up the energy level and carries it forward. Closer, Prayer to Be, follows on with a dense,
knotty solo from the bassist. A sudden halt and he flows on at a slower tempo
before the others join for the closing bars and that’s goodnight Rothbury.
It’s been a good night
with a group of Northern big hitters before a knowledgeable crowd. The Rothbury
experiment is working and I wish them more power to their elbow. Next up is
Swing Manouche on April 30. I advise following Coquetdale Jazz
on Facebook. Dave Sayer
2 comments :
A picture of an elephant, what more could anyone ask for?!
Having fairly recently moved from central Newcastle to mid-Northumberland by the Coquet my access to live jazz has changed radically. Although Alnwick is a lovely country town and its Playhouse Theatre has a wide range of events, jazz gigs are few and far between. Then the options are 30 miles each way to Newcastle, 50 miles to Hexham, 100 to Edinburgh and 300 to Ronnie’s. The jazz spirit is willing but the body can no longer cope with late night drives in the wind and rain.
However they say good things come to those who wait, so to see a flyer in the Accidental Bookshop in Alnwick for a jazz gig in Rothbury (a mere 15 miles away) and featuring Lewis Watson and some of the finest musicians in the North East in the band was a gift from the musical gods.
And wow, this was some gig!
Dave Sayers excellent and comprehensive review captures the atmosphere and the quality of the music very well. Like him I was delighted that Watson didn’t feel he had to tone down his playing in case the audience were new to this music. But the reality was that all the band members are such consummate musicians with such an instictive feel for each others’ playing that there was no need for showy tear up the floorboards, melt the windows over exuberance. Everything they played was so well judged and coherent that whether they played low or high, fast or slow it made perfect sense.
I spoke briefly with one of the organisers at the break and he said they had been a little bit worried that this band might have been a bit of stretch for some of the audience but that wasn’t my experience. There was enthusiastic clapping (and whistles) after indivdual solos and at the end of each piece and prolonged applause at the end of the set. My experience of community events is that local people value them and appreciate the effort that the organisers put in to make them happen. So a huge shout-out to the organisers of Coquetdale Jazz for what they are doing and for bringing such quality musicians to Rothbury.
As a person living (reasonably) locally but not yet a local I’m looking forward to attending as many of their future gigs as possible.
JC
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