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It's not every gig that I get to sit next to the city's mayor and mayoress and even rarer when the aforementioned dignitaries, in this case Sunderland's Councillor Ehthesham Haque and Councillor Lynda Scanlan, shake my hand.
This was one of those occasions of being in the right place at the right time. The mayoral couple sat to my left whilst, to my right was north east folk legend Alistair Anderson. As I was, so to speak, piggy in the middle, after they had shaken hands, noblesse oblige dictated mine too was shaken.
The occasion, at Sunderland's cultural venue the Fire Station, was an 'out of town' BBC Prom presented in conjunction with Soweto Kinch's late night Radio 3 jazz show 'Round Midnight.
Theo Croker (electronics, trumpet, vocals ); Idris Frederick (piano, keys); Eric Wheeler (bass); Jeremiah Collier (drums) + Soweto Kinch (tenor sax).
I'd caught Croker live at the Glasshouse last year
so I knew that once the electronic chicanery had been reduced to a minimum I'd
hear some fine trumpet playing as well as some dynamic drumming, boss bass
playing from an instrument that, sizewise, could have been a cello and keyboard wizardry on both the grand and the
'lecky'. As a bonus, linkman Kinch sat in and blew some tenor.
Programme included some or all of the following: 4KNOWLEDGE; Amen Waters; 64 Joints; one pillow; prelude 3; Hero Stomp.
Joe Webb Trio: Joe Webb (piano); Will Sach (double bass); Kai MacRae (drums) + Soweto Kinch (tenor sax)
This was ostensibly a tribute to Oscar Peterson although, apart from the opener, it could have been a tribute to any pianist from Scott Joplin to Keith Jarrett as seen through the eyes of Oscar. Such is the talent of Webb that no challenge is too great. Engaging banter between Joe and Soweto on a variety of topics some of which wouldn't have been out of place across the river at the Stadium of Light was good fun. Oh yes and special mention of Sach whose first solo of the night drew the first round of applause. Kai MacRae was a new name to me. He slotted in well.
Programme: Noreen's Nocturne (comp. O. Peterson); Like Sach; Goal Mouth Scramble; Correze; Oscar.
The Lord Mayor's show (literally) began with what Rivkala described as depicting a cabaret club at midnight. Authentically attired in a slinky black dress la chanteuse presented a selection of songs from her recent album Crushed Velvet. Ably supported by MacCalman on tenor and clarinet, Lawrence on keys/piano, along with Elgie and Johnson on bass and drums it was a good set that projected the singer's stagecraft to perfection.
Programme included some or all of the following: My Face; Zip Lock Teeth; Crawl; Chess; Costume Party; Pedestal; Losing Horses.
Earlier the Glasshouse based youth band Jambone, led by Jason Holcomb, gave a spirited performance that crossed the decades with a varied programme that included St. Louis Blues and Tuxedo Junction alongside more contemporary numbers. I also got to shake hands with Tom, a member of the BBC production team. I was moving amongst high society tonight the only one missing was Régis le Bris!
Quite a memorable evening*. Lance
*Last night's concert will be broadcast tonight (Friday) on Soweto's extended Radio 3 'Round Midnight programme (starting at 11:00pm).
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