Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham - Mar. 22

(© Malcolm Sinclair)

Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax, soprano sax, flute); Paul Edis (piano)

Jazz at the Gala is on a roll with another full house, little surprise there given this afternoon's concert featured the return of Vasilis Xenopoulos and Paul Edis. Feels Like Home is the duo's new CD due for release on April 19, however, the physical product was available on the day and, of course, the capacity audience heard the album played in its entirety. 

(© Malcolm Sinclair)

Opening with Stanley Turrentine's arrangement of Dvořák’s Going Home, Vasilis and Paul would play for an hour largely without charts, this is their music, their telepathic relationship clear for all to see. Introducing The Coast (imagine Antônio Carlos Jobim taking the Tyne and Wear Metro the long way round to the coast (to Whitley Bay, Cullercoats, Tynemouth and on), Paul incurred the wrath of the Sand Dancers* in the audience suggesting Tynemouth is a 'posh version of South Shields'! Insults aside, it's a great tune (Vasilis playing soprano sax). 

(© Malcolm Sinclair)

Vasilis' Memories of Home, with more than a hint of No More Blues, found favour with the Gala audience, as did Vasilis the flautist on Paul's samba, Mikey's Samba (it's about a Nissan Micra and such like). Highlights of the hour came in the form of Paul's Lockdown London and Vasilis' Get Off My Lawn, excellent tunes, brilliantly played.  

The next Jazz at the Gala concert presents Graham Hardy's new quartet, the date for your diary...Friday 26 April. Tickets are flying out the door, book now at: galadurham.co.uk

 * Sand Dancer, a resident of South Shields. Russell