Luis Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums)
Luis Verde has become a familiar figure at Newcastle Arts Centre's twice monthly Black Swan jam session. Last week alto saxophonist Verde made his long-awaited regional concert debut. That was at the Globe in Newcastle, this afternoon Verde was the guest of Jazz at Queen's Hall. A few miles west of Newcastle, Hexham's jazz fans turned out in force to hear for themselves what all the fuss was about. Would they be impressed?
Joining Verde in the library within Queen's Hall were guitarist Joe Steels, bassist John Pope and drummer John Hirst. JP was on Verde's gig last week at which it was apparent there was a musical rapport. Steels had heard what Verde could do at the aforementioned Black Swan, for John Hirst this was to be a new experience.
The set list for Luis Verde's debut Newcastle performance comprised numbers by Thelonious Monk and a raft of original compositions, here at Queen's Hall it would be original material all the way (Steels and Pope contributing compositions of their own). Alto sax playing of the highest standard, would Messrs Steels, Pope and Hirst be able to keep up? Were they on the same wavelength? Soweto Kinch has long-since engaged an audience, it would appear Luis Verde is winning an audience right here in the north east of England. Dynamic, propulsive, wholly convincing, Luis Verde is, as they say, 'the real deal'! The applause here in Queen's Hall suggested more than a few 'got' what he was doing.
Verde's Infinita and Pope's A Processions of Heads hit the heights, as did the entire set. Their facility, indeed their understanding of Verde's music and his approach to music-making, is credit to Steels, Pope and Hirst, this was some performance, individually and collectively. Luis Verde's next scheduled concert appearance is on Friday 19 July at the Lit and Phil in Newcastle. The word is, very few seats remain available. To secure your seat for a one o'clock start, call the Lit & Phil now on 0191 232 0192. Russell
1 comment :
This was quite a remarkable session : I couldn't really get my head round this happening >in Hexham<, not some concert hall or jazz club in a major European city of culture. From Luis' workouts on standards at the Black Swan I knew he could blow, but this showed what he does when he gets to choose/write on a more progressive canvas. Talk about hitting the heights, Luis' playing defied gravity and headed into space, with the band cutting loose alongside. If his talented crew of like-minded cosmonauts can fly like this after one rehearsal, I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next - bring it on!
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