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| © Roly Veitch |
James Birkett (guitar); Jeremy McMurray (piano); Andy Champion (double
bass)
Blaydon Jazz Club's last concert of the year
featured three old friends of Tyneside's longest-running jazz club, namely
James Birkett, Jeremy McMurray and Andy Champion.
The Black Bull's lounge filled up nicely ahead of an eight o'clock start. Guitarist James Birkett scribbled out a set list and the first selection - What is This Thing Called Love? - confirmed what we thought, it was to be an evening of standards, the Great American Songbook offering rich pickings.
Jobim's Triste (JB has a penchant for the bossa), They Can't Take That Away for Me (an early highlight, stellar playing from all three musicians) and a surprise detour into the Chick Corea songbook for a wonderful take on Crystal Silence, this was the James Birkett Trio and Blaydon Jazz Club at their very best.
A Smooth One persuaded one couple to take to the dance floor, the rest of us sat listening to the King of Swing's popular number, to these ears a bebopper's delight. James Birkett fondly recalled his days at Leeds College of Music, in particular the time Thad Jones gave a masterclass to a room full of music students, JB one of their number. All these years later the James Birkett Trio played Jones' A Child is Born. Marvellous.
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| © Roly Veitch |
Birkett, McMurray (at
the house upright) and Champion are consummate musicians, their nonchalant
readings of classic material a joy to behold - Ellington's I'm Beginning to See the Light, Victor Young's My Foolish Heart (Birkett extolling the virtues of
Gordon Jenkins' string arrangements on countless albums) and, to see out
another year at Blaydon Jazz Club, Four Brothers.
See you at the Black Bull in 2025. Concert details in due course. Russell
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