Album review: Joe Steels Group - A Blue Patch

Joe Steels (guitar); Ferg Kilsby (trumpet); Ben Lawrence (piano, Fender Rhodes); Paul Susans (double bass); John Hirst (drums)

A Blue Patch is Joe Steels' new album. Featuring Cumbria’s Ben Lawrence (piano, Fender Rhodes) and, from Northumberland, Ferg Kilsby (trumpet), Paul Susans (bass) and John Hirst (drums), the album spans all of three quarters of an hour. 

The north of England landscape, straddling either side of the Pennines, is a shared experience for all five musicians: panoramic landscapes, big skies, an ancient folklore heritage. Comprising seven tracks, all composed by Steels, at the heart of the music is a quiet lyricism, fusing Celtic themes and advanced jazz harmony. 

There'll be Some Changes Made...

Jazz, like football clubs and Westminster has its comings (Cummings?) and goings and these past few days and weeks have seen P45s given to Spurs' manager Thomas Frank and the Lords Mandelson and Doyle.

Down at the coast a more amicable parting of the ways saw trombonist and harmonica hot-shot Herbie Hudson, by mutual agreement, terminate his leadership of Harmony Brass at Cullercoats Crescent Club. I presume this is to concentrate on his free-lance connections with the jazz/folk/Americana trio Salty Dog.

The Monday lunchtime sessions will continue with sax/clarinet ace Jim McBriarty taking over the front line duties and the band changing its name to the Friends of Jazz. Lance

Preview: Strictly Smokin' Big Band featuring Giacomo Smith @ The Glasshouse - Feb. 27

Bruce Adams, Alan Barnes, Paul Booth, Matt  Ford, Polly Gibbons, Pete Long, Mike Lovatt, Claire Martin, Mark Nightingale, Dave O'Higgins, Dennis Rollins, Emma Smith, Joe Stilgoe, Anthony Strong and Hailey Tuck are just some of the major names that have appeared in and around Newcastle/Gateshead with the Strictly Smokin' Big Band. 

That illustrious rota of jazz A-Listers isn't closed - hopefully it never will be - and on Feb. 27 at the Glasshouse, SSBB host yet another big hitter in the form of Italian born, New York raised, UK resident, clarinet and sax star Giacomo Smith. 

GS first came to my attention when he was part of a storming gig by Kansas Smitty's House Band back in 2018 at the Glasshouse which was then known as 'The Sage'. Come Covid and among the few highlights of that dark period were the livestreams by KSHB with Giacomo 'Smitty's virtuosity well featured.

Ronnie Scott’s Classical All Stars – Gershwin, Bernstein & Beyond - Upstairs at Ronnie’s, London – Inaugural Classical Night

© Kate Wright

James Pearson (piano); Lizzie Ball (violin); Pete Long (sax, clarinet); Tom Dunnett (trombone); Jimmy T. Turner (vibes); Sam Burgess (bass); Matt Skelton (drums)

There’s a delicious irony in walking into the new Upstairs at Ronnie’s and realising that the ghost of Ronnie himself is alive and well - sitting at the grand piano in the shape of James Pearson.

In the absence of the great club founder and raconteur, Pearson has quietly picked up the mantle as storyteller-in-chief. Long before the first clarinet swoop of Rhapsody in Blue, he’s already taken the packed room on a guided tour through Aeolian Hall, Parisian car horns and grumpy viola sections - the sort of witty, historically literate patter Ronnie would have relished. Pearson has form as a “world-class pianist, composer and raconteur extraordinaire”, as one recent festival billed him, and that combination of easy humour and deep scholarship is exactly what stitches this new classical strand together.

Stockport Jazz

This week Stockport Jazz welcomes the Neil Yates Quartet featuring Neil Yates (trumpet), Andrzej Baranek (piano), Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley (bass) and Rick Weedon (drums).

Sunday February 15th 8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

Jazz on the Tyne Welcomes Joe Steels and A Blue Patch

In the latest edition of the podcast, presenter Colin Muirhead talks with local guitarist Joe Steels about his new album A Blue Patch and the associated tour, as well as upcoming jazz events in Hexham.  Together with tracks from A Blue Patch, you’ll hear music with Valentine’s Day in mind by Samara Joy, Noa Levy, Jo Harrop & Jamie McCredie, the Alex Clarke Quartet, Ben Wilcock & John Rae, Oscar Lavën, and Lindsay Hannon.

You can listen to the show anytime HERE.

Plus, you can request music for future programmes, or pass on news or feedback by emailing Colin at jazz.tyne.hive@gmail.com or by heading to www.jazzonthetyne.org.

Press release: Cheltenham Jazz Festival Announces Star-Studded 30th Anniversary Line-Up

Cheltenham Jazz Festival has announced details of its 30th anniversary edition, taking place from Wednesday 29th April to Monday 4th May 2026. One of Europe’s most popular jazz festivals, the six-day event will present a wide-ranging programme spanning international headliners, leading contemporary jazz artists, genre-crossing innovators and emerging UK talent. 

30 Years Young: The Next Chapter   

As Cheltenham Jazz Festival marks its 30th anniversary, the Festival celebrates three decades of championing world-class jazz, supporting emerging talent and bringing bold, diverse music to audiences in Cheltenham and beyond. Thirty years young, the Festival continues to look firmly to the future, building on a rich legacy of iconic performances while embracing new voices, fresh collaborations and innovative programming that will shape the next generation of jazz for years to come. 

Sunday Night @ the Globe: Gerry Richardson's Big Idea - Feb. 8

© Sheila Herrick

Gerry Richardson (organ, vocals); Dave Hignett, Mark Webb (trumpets); David 'Showtime' Gray (trombone); Garry Linsley (alto  sax); Stuart Johnson (tenor/soprano sax); Sue Ferris (tenor/baritone sax, flute); Rod Sinclair (guitar); Paul Smith (drums)

You wait seven years for a Big Idea gig then three come at once! October 2025, February 2026 and July 2026 may not actually come at once but in the overall timescale of things it does seem so. Not that I'm complaining, the nine piece soul/funk/jazz/blues outfit never fail to impress and I doubt if anyone at last night's full house session at the Globe would disagree.

Opening up with their signature tune, Stone Church, the Big Idea didn't come on with all guns blazing, just enough to whet our appetites for what we knew was in the pipeline. The temperature rose with Rod Sinclair's solo on Blue For Big Red, Ska Odyssey featured Stuart Johnson on tenor and David Gray on trombone. I got the feeling that Showtime was chomping at the bit - his day would come. His day did indeed come after Sue on tenor and Garry on alto had worked out on Gerry's tribute to Abdullah Ibrahim - Brand New Bag.

Durham Alumni Big Band and Saltburn Big Band Encounters in Concert @ Saltburn Theatre Feb. 6

Two big bands for the price of one!  A night of fine big band music, which as MC Django promised us, would demonstrate the great range that big band music encompasses. There was a family connection too, as brothers Sean and Kevin Eland were the respective musical directors.

First up were DABB who started with Summertime, which, on a cold wet night, warmed us all up. They ran through a varied set with particular highlights being a punchy arrangement of Sunny, and Steampunk, written by ex band director Matt Roberts, featuring a great steam train style rhythm and Sean Eland on wooden train whistle! Particular praise for the late stand-in bassist, whose name I didn't get, but did a fine job.

Press release: Sunday Night @ the Globe - Gerry Richardson's Big Idea. IT'S TONIGHT - NOT TO BE MISSED!

After a packed-out reunion gig in October 2025, Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea returns to The Globe for another night of powerful jazz/soul/funk.

Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea is a dynamic nine-piece Hammond-organ-based band exploring the jazz organ genre to the max! Soul, gospel, funk, swing and samba are all part of the mix. Add to that some kicking original tunes, many written as tributes to the legendary jazz and soul musicians who have inspired Gerry throughout his career and you get an unbeatable format for a great night’s music.

The Big Idea are: – Gerry Richardson – organ and vocals, Mark Webb & Dave Hignett – trumpet/flugelhorn, David Gray – trombone, Garry Linsley, Stuart Johnson & Sue Ferris – saxophones, Rod Sinclair – guitar and Paul Smith —drums.

Preview: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Thursday, February 12 - CANCELLED!

Sadly this much anticipated gig has had to be cancelled due to ill health.

It will be rescheduled in the, hopefully, not too distant future.

 

Jazz Time Aycliffe Radio - Sundays 6.30-8.00pm (repeated Tuesdays 8.00-9.30pm).

https://www.ayclifferadio.co.uk/listen.

Playlist 08/02/26 (repeated Tuesday 10/02/26)

Happy 95^th birthday!: Louis Armstrong.

Jazz historian, broadcaster and musician, Alyn Shipton introduces The Oxford Concert: Alyn Shipton's New Orleans Friends and talks about George Lewis and the New Orleans tradition.

Memories: Bill Evans, Barney Kessel, Lonnie Johnson, Chick Webb.

Tony Eales' pick: Paris Jazz Big Band (Pierre Bertrand & Nicolas Folmer).

What’s on in the NE: Noel Dennis.

Requests: Tina May, Charlie Parker. 

Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington Area or via your smart speaker. 

R.I.P. Josie Falbo (1943 - Jan. 1, 2026)

I'm devastated! Yesterday, only one day after reviewing what turned out to be her final album, I was informed that Chicago based singer and legend Josie Falbo had passed away on January 1 after a losing battle with cancer.

The irony is that it was only on Thursday that I first fell in love with her beautiful voice and I looked forward to hearing more. There was a silken timbre to her voice that few singers achieve. Paradoxically, the closest I've heard with similar qualities was Rebecca Kilgore who left us only a week later. However, whereas as Becky had a host of albums to her name, to the best of my knowledge Josie only recorded three. I will be looking out for those.

Josie was 82 but her voice was timeless.

My posthumous apology for not discovering Josie Falbo sooner.

REST IN PEACE. Lance

YouTube clip (12 mins).

You Must Believe in Spring.

Film review: Ornette: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle - Feb. 6

A rare screening of Shirley Clarke's 1985 documentary film Ornette: Made in America. The Star and Shadow Cinema on Warwick Street, Newcastle attracted many of the usual suspects. Filmed over something like thirty years, Clarke's film was both of its time and not so much of its time - the overall look and feel more Woodstock-era than mid-eighties filmmaking.  

Grainy footage, fast cut editing, visually and audially there was little or no respite. Freight trains, cityscapes, street scenes, from Ornette's early years in Fort Worth, Texas to Ornette the established/revered artist in NYC, the relentless soundtrack didn't accommodate a moment's silence.  

Late Night Chicago Radio w. Denny Farrell (Feb.6 - Feb. 12)

Charlie Parker: Hootie Blues.
Ray Brown: Just a Gigolo. 

Chet Baker: I Wish I Knew.

Benny Carter: Prelude to a Kiss.

Dinah Washington: Squeeze Me.

Bud Powell: Yesterdays.

Jim Hall/Paul Desmond: The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else.

Kay Starr: It Had to be You.

Barney Kessel: I'm Glad There is You.

Bud Shank: Shank's Pranks,

Ella Fitzgerald: Goin' Out of my Head.

?: You Made me Love You.

Joe Williams: Every Time we Say Goodbye.

LISTEN 24/7.

Album review: Soft Machine - Thirteen (Dyad Records)

Theo Travis (flute, saxes, Rhodes, electronics); John Etheridge (guitar); Fred Thelonious Baker (bass guitar); Asaf Sirkis (drums, percussion)

It’s a strange and beautiful thing to witness a band with sixty years of history sounding not just alive, but newly awakened. Soft Machine - the psychedelic adventurers who once shared stages with Hendrix, the Canterbury visionaries who helped define jazz fusion before the term even existed - return with Thirteen, an album of thirteen new tracks that feels both deeply rooted and unexpectedly fresh.

What has always set Soft Machine apart is their willingness to inhabit contradiction: experimental yet melodic, precise yet spontaneous, cerebral yet playful. On Thirteen, those contrasts are magnified. The sound is broad and cinematic in places - widescreen, atmospheric, alive with colour - yet close, intimate and intensely personal in others. Music that can bloom with orchestral expansiveness, then fold into the quiet of four musicians breathing as one.

Album review: Josie Falbo - Kickin' It (self)

Josie Falbo (vocals) + (collective): Jeremy Kahn, Chris Sargent, Marshall Vente, Steve Million (piano); Eric Hochberg, Lawrence Kohut, Scott Mason (bass); Bob Rummage, Tom Hipskind (drums) + horns and the Crystal String Section.

So many musicians, so many permutations that it's impossible to list them all with any degree of accuracy in the space allotted which is why it's been hanging around in my in-tray since the world began, or so it seems.

Falbo has been singing professionally for 50 years and, although this is only her third album you've heard her voice many times exhorting us to, among other things, dine at McDonalds, fly with United Airlines, bank at Nationwide and drink Budweiser  with maybe a Coke chaser. In other words, a singer of jingles.

And why not? It's a regular paycheck as opposed to an album that's subject to the vagaries of public taste. No such worries with a Big Mac or a bottle of Bud!

Album review: Tim Garland & Geoffrey Keezer - Keezer (Tim Garland Music)

Tim Garland (mezzo-soprano/soprano sax); Geoffrey Keezer (piano).

You learn something every day particularly when it comes to saxophones. Until I played this duo version of Chick Corea's La Fiesta I didn't know there was such a beast as a mezzo-soprano saxophone. Pitched in F - a tone above an alto - it offers yet another variation of saxophone sound. 

On the above track Garland whizzes around the instrument with his customary dexterity. If he'd been driving a space ship he'd be on a mission to Mars. Keezer hangs on in there providing his own impetus to the gravity defying musical astronaut.

Garland sticks with the instrument for all but two of the nine tracks only reverting to the conventional soprano for Carousel and Keezer's Ghost in the Photograph.

Farewell to Brain Carrick: St Gregory's RC Church, South Shields - Feb. 4

It was a dreich day on South Tyneside. St Gregory's RC Church stands on Borough Road, just off Sunderland Road. Many mourners were there to pay their respects to Brian Carrick. Clarinettist (and tenor saxophonist), Brian was a devotee of the music of New Orleans, over the years he made many visits to NOLA, playing at many of the haunts where some of the legendary New Orleans jazz musicians once played.

Brian, an Honorary Citizen of New Orleans, was played in by The Old Rugged Cross (a recording of Brian himself), which he no doubt played on countless occasions at gigs. Following a lengthy service, at which many musicians were in attendance, Brian was played out with another of his own recordings, St Philip Street Breakdown. Russell           

Stockport Jazz

This Sunday Stockport Jazz welcomes Stockport-based tenor saxophonist Zac Harrison to the Moor Club, accompanied by Paul Hartley (guitar), Peter Hartley (bass) and Eryl Roberts (drums).

Sunday 8th February 2026

8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

Album review: Asaf Harris - I Thought I Was Ready (Self. Distributed by ECN Music)

Asaf Harris (tenor sax); Guy Moskovich (piano); Omri Ever Hadani (bass); David Sirkis (drums) + Onn Yosef Kadosh (oud tk 8)

Middle Eastern sounds and gentle cinematic colour is how the press release describes Israeli tenor saxophonist, composer and educator Asaf Harris' sophomore album I Thought I Was  Ready.

Eight originals* inspired by self-reflection on  various events that have shaped his life to date. Before actually listening my first reaction was that this is going to be a load of pretentious twaddle.

I couldn't have been more wrong!

February goodies

As the days slowly but surely begin to lengthen, there is a long list of gigs well worth going to during February. Here's a relatively short list. On Friday 6th, Encounters in Concert is a coming together of two big bands at Saltburn Theatre. Durham Alumni Big Band and Saltburn Big Band will share the stage on Albion Terrace, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, it's a seven thirty start, it promises to be a memorable occasion.

Tees Bay Swing Band meets at Hartlepool's Blacksmith's Arms on Saturday (Feb 7th, 1:30pm). It's an open rehearsal and you're invited to pop along, sit with a drink and listen to the band as it's put through its paces and it's free admission! Up the road in Newcastle on Sunday evening (Feb. 8th) one of the great bands makes a swift return to Jazz Co-op HQ. In October last year Gerry Richardson's Big Idea sold out the Railway Street venue and the nine-piece band is on course to do the same thing this weekend. The Globe is a thriving, independent music venue, to show your support, book in advance at: www.theglobenewcastle.bar. Do it now or miss out! 

Southport Jazz Festival: Claire Martin @ the Grand Hotel, Southport - Feb. 1

Claire Martin (vocals); Nikki Iles (piano); Karen Sharp (sax, clarinet); Ewan Hastie (bass) 

Fans of top quality vocals were fully pleased, impressed and satisfied at the closing show of the fourth annual Southport Jazz Festival on Sunday, Feb. 1 at the spacious and well appointed Grand Hotel. The multifaceted vocalist, Claire Martin delivered a two hour concert of a winning and eclectic mix of jazz, classic standards and 1970s' pop songs.

The trio of pianist, Nikki Iles, saxophonist/clarinettist, Karen Sharp and Ewan Hastie’s bass accompanied her with sensitivity and aplomb in equal measure. The slightly unconventional absence of a percussionist was more than made up for with Hastie’s driving bass along with Iles’ relentless rhythmic fluidity of comping and fills. Sharp’s seamless verve in her swinging melodic solos, scored highly in lifting the bar of intensity and depth to engage the audience throughout.

Farewell to Ken Peplowski (1959 - Feb. 2, 2026)

The sad news has filtered through that saxist/clarinetist Ken Peplowski passed away yesterday (Feb. 2) after playing a set as part of the Jazz Cruise. Although he'd had health problems in recent years he seemed to be on the mend.

I have so many memories of seeing and hearing him over the years both live and on disc.

A Corner House gig with the Bill Harper Trio in, I think, the late '80s/early '90s got me hooked, Around about then he also took part in one of the all-time greatest north east jazz concerts at the (then) Saville Exchange, North Shields...

Marty Grosz (guitar, vocals) and Ken Peplowski (tenor sax, clarinet) were not only musically compatible but could also lay claim to be the best comedy duo to come from America since Abbott and Costello.

Grammy Awards (jazz)

Best jazz vocal album

• Winner: Samara Joy – Portrait
• Dee Dee Bridgewater & Bill Charlap – Elemental
• Terri Lyne Carrington & Christie Dashiell – We Insist 2025!
• Michael Mayo – Fly
• Nicole Zuraitis, Dan Pugach, Tom Scott, Idan Morim, Keyon Harrold & Rachel Eckroth - Live at Vic's Las Vegas

Best jazz instrumental album

• Winner: Sullivan Fortner feat Peter Washington & Marcus Gilmore – Southern Nights
• Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade – Trilogy 3 (Live)
• Branford Marsalis Quartet – Belonging
• John Patitucci feat Chris Potter & Brian Blade – Spirit Fall
• Yellowjackets – Fasten Up

Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle - Feb. 1

Annie Brown Caldwell (vocals); Deborah Caldwell (vocals); Anjessica Caldwell (vocals); Willie Joe Caldwell Sr. (guitar); Willie Caldwell Jr. (bass); Abel Aquirius Caldwell (drums)

The Globe on a Sunday evening usually wins out. However, occasionally there is an unfortunate clash with a gig elsewhere. This evening was one such occasion. The Cluny, down in the Ouseburn, opened its doors to a gospel/soul musical family all the way from West Point, Mississippi. Touring the UK, Annie & the Caldwells were on a mission.

Annie Caldwell sat for the duration, her daughter Deborah Caldwell standing to her right, to her left, daughter Anjessica Caldwell. The daughters were more, much more than backing singers. The three women shared the vocals, their sheer power shaking the foundations here on Lime Street. Sitting behind Annie, Deborah and Anjessica were Mr Caldwell and sons. Father Willie Joe Caldwell playing guitar (Mississippi swamp, hill country, soul-blues and more), sons Willie Caldwell Jr., bass guitar, and Abel Aquirius Caldwell, a powerhouse among powerhouse drummers. 

R.I.P. Andy Cooper (1942 - Feb. 1, 2026)

Sad to hear of the passing of Andy Cooper at the age of 83. I only heard him live once - at Newcastle City Hall with Kenny Ball. This would probably be mid to late '60s. I was impressed, he seemed to be a better clarinetist than most of the trad men around at the time.

I later heard him many times with Ball on record. 

He will be sadly missed.

Rest In Peace.

Lance

Sunday Night @ the Globe: The Ollie Styles Experience + Jenny Baker and guests - Feb. 1

© John Lyons

Olly Styles (tenor/soprano sax); Emma Tomlinson (keys); George GriVith (bass guitar); Jack Littlewood (drums) + Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jennny Baker (voice, guitar)

The room was crowded, there was a feeling of youthful pizzazz in the air. An air of eager anticipation from the younger element and curiosity from those of a more mature persuasion. Come the end of the evening both factions were happy with what they'd heard.

© John Lyons

Not that I personally was in any doubt. Styles, a student of tenor ace Lewis Watson, has absorbed the great man's teachings to the extent that Lewis will soon be looking over his shoulder...

Leading from the front he led his troops through a mix of well crafted originals and a few contemporary standards that were after my time but which I loved anyway. Several numbers had unaccompanied tenor passages in which his rich tone shone through whilst others displayed his formidable technique only rarely travelling too far in to the harmonic extremes of the instrument. The same agility was applied equally effectively to soprano. Olly Styles is the real deal.

Album review: Tina Carr - Moon Over Mildmay

Tina Carr (vocals); Matt Robinson (piano, M.D.); Aanu Sodipe (violin); Miguel Gorodi (trumpet); Kieran McLeod (trombone); Sam Newbould (alto sax); Tom Ollendorf (guitar); Oli Hayhurst (bass); Rob Oughton (drums)

Every so often, an album arrives that feels less like a release and more like a quiet revelation. Moon Over Mildmay is exactly that - a record that sidles into your life with the intimacy of a late-night conversation and leaves you wondering how this voice has been hiding in plain sight.

Preview: Sunday Night @ the Globe: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker

Olly Styles (tenor sax); Emma Tomlinson (keys); George GriVith (bass); Jack Littlewood (drums) + SPECIAL GUESTS!?

Emerging from the vibrant jazz scene of Newcastle upon Tyne, tenor saxophonist Olly Styles is bringing his unique sound and energy to the Globe for his debut headline show.

Inspired by the both the modern and old school tenor sax titans Olly’s music draws inspiration from the likes of Joshua Redman, Chad LB, Bob Reynolds and Hank Mobley. His sound fuses the old and new, blending bop with groove based music and the great songwriting storytellers, to create his own unique voice.

Album review: Five-Way Split - Modus Operandi (self)

Quentin Collins (trumpet, flugelhorn); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor/soprano sax); Rob Barron (piano, Rhodes); Matyas Hofecker (bass); Matt Home (drums)

The second album by Five-Way Split maintains the high standard set by their 2023 debut album All the Way. The hard bop quintet still relates to the founding fathers of the idiom such as the Jazz Messengers or the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet only this time re-imagining them in terms of today. It's not as raw as the originals, maybe a little softer around the edges which is no bad thing.

Jazz Time Aycliffe Radio - Sundays 6.30-8.00pm (repeated Tuesdays 8.00-9.30pm).

Playlist 01/02/26 (repeated Tuesday 03/02/26)

RIP: Brian Carrick. 

Birthday Memories: Ray Anthony. 

Requests from the Sue Ferris gig: Mulgrew Miller/Roy Hargrove, Buddy Rich/Art Tatum/Lionel Hampton, Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis, Bob Mintzer, Carmen McRae/Dave Brubeck, Mary Halvorson, Buddy Rich.    

Requests: Ella & Louis, Frank Sinatra/Red Norvo.

Memories: James P. Johnson, Stan Getz w. Bob Brookmeyer Quintet, Sonny Stitt.    

Remaster: Tommy Smith, Edwin Morgan (poetry).

What’s on in the NE: The Big Easy, Gerry Richardson's Big Idea.

Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington Area or via your smart speaker. 

https://www.ayclifferadio.co.uk/listen.

Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead - Jan. 30

Dan Coulthurst (trumpet, poetry); Joel Stedman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums)

Dan Coulthurst arrived at Gateshead's Central Bar twenty four hours after a successful gig (100 plus audience) at Cobalt Studios in Newcastle. This evening, on Half Moon Lane, the affable Coulthurst would play to a somewhat smaller audience. 

The Dan Coulthurst Quintet opened with What is to be Done? In possession of a formidable technique, trumpeter Coulthurst touched base with NYC's loft scene of some sixty years ago, similarly Chicago's AACM, through to twenty first century developments, jazz and, fleetingly, improv. Studious, if not earnest, in demeanour, Coulthurst and his bandmates were fully immersed in the music. 

Second Hand Bargain of The Year Already? Mike Westbrook - Glad Days (Enja Records)

Mike Westbrook (piano); Kate Westbrook (voice, tenor horn, piccolo); Phil Minton (voice); Peter Whyman, Alan Wakeman, Chris Biscoe (saxes); Steve Berry (bass); Dave Berry (drums) + Senior Girls Choir of Blackheath Conservatoire of Music and the Arts

Rummaging amongst the shelves of the Cancer Research shop in Morpeth can sometimes reveal hidden gems. A large tranche of CDs by the BBC Concert Orchestra (Plays Bach, Plays Debussy, and, I wouldn’t wonder, Plays Dominoes and Darts), was neighboured by Glad Day: Settings of William Blake by Mike Westbrook. 

Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre - Jan. 30

Photos © Neil Todd

Pete Roth (guitar); Mike Pratt (bass guitar); Bill Bruford (drums)

It was a full house at GCT last night, they had travelled far and wide, I overheard one person saying he'd come from Wakefield and, judging by the various accents/dialects that circulated around the auditorium, he wasn't the only one drawn to the event promoted by Independent Venue Week.

Perhaps they, the audience, had been persuaded by Russell's glowing BSH review of the trio's Tuesday night gig at Darlington (HERE) or maybe they wanted to see and hear rock drumming legend Bill Bruford back on the scene after a 15 year hiatus - who knows?

The Traveling Janes @ Spice of Life, London - Jan. 26

Ali Affleck (vocals); Rico Tomasso (trumpet); Lauryn Gould (reeds); Amanda Lee (piano); Katie Cavera (banjo, guitar); Danielle Price (tuba); Richard Pite (drums)

Ali Affleck fronts a variety of ensembles. This afternoon at Cambridge Circus we would be listening to the multinational Traveling Janes. Scottish-American bandleader Affleck, Lauryn Gould (Texas), Amanda Lee (Singapore), Katie Cavera (California) and Danielle Price (dividing her time between Scotland and Norway) were to be joined by two notable names - Rico Tomasso, of the parish of Chiswick, and Spice of Life promoter, Londoner Richard Pite.

Album review: Singapore Symphony Orchestra - Symbiosis A Tribute to Bill Evans

Singapore Symphony Orchestra: Jean Thorel (conductor); Mattieu Arama (concertmaster); Samuel Phua, Michellina Chan (alto sax); Luo  Tianze (alto/tenor sax); Jeffrey Gao (alto/baritone sax)

Thomas Clausen Trio: Thomas Clausen (piano); Thomas Fonnesbæck (bass); Karsten Bagge (drums) + Anders Nalta (trumpet on tks 4 & 7); Evgueni Brokmiller (flute tk 7).

An ambitious and ultimately very satisfying album by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and the Thomas Clausen Trio who combine to pay tribute to the late, and much loved, Bill Evans.

Opening with Palle Mikkelborg's 1969 Bill Evans Suite which comprises six of Evans' most beautiful compositions: "Interlude" to Waltz For Debby; Time Remembered; My Bells; Interlude (Treasures); Waltz For Debby (reprise) and Walkin' Up trio and orchestra gel enhancing rather than detracting their contributions. It also rubber-stamps my opinion that Waltz For  Debby is the best ever jazz composition in 3/4 time.

The Lamb & Flag Band @ The Lamb & Flag, Covent Garden, London - Jan 25

Rico Tomasso (trumpet, vocals); Ewan Bleach (tenor sax, baritone sax, clarinet, vocals); Malcolm Earle Smith (trombone, vocals); Simon Picton (guitar); Peter Hughes (double bass)  

A first, short-notice visit to a Grade II listed pub in Covent Garden. The Lamb and Flag, tucked away on Rose Street, has been host to a jazz session for the best part of fifty years. Last Sunday in the month the Lamb and Flag Band holds court in what has to be one of the smallest jazz rooms anywhere in the country. If the pub has a resident cat, there isn't room to swing it - not that one would, of course. 

Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall 1938 @ Cadogan Hall, London - Jan. 25

Pete Long and His Good Men: Pete Long (MD, clarinet); Michael McQuaid, Alyson Cawley, Karen Sharp, Ewan Bleach (reeds); Chris Snead, James Davison, Nathan  Bray (trumpets); Andy Flaxman, Ian Bateman (trombones); Anthony Kerr (vibes); Colin Good (piano); Martin Wheatley (guitar); Tom Mason (double bass); Richard Pite (drums); Louise Cookman (vocals) 

The Jazz Repertory Company specialises in presenting set piece occasions at Cadogan Hall. The Sloane Square venue can accommodate just shy of one thousand people and as the lights went down the vast majority of the seats in the Grade II listed building were occupied. As occasions go, it doesn't come much bigger than Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall 1938. 

Pete Long and His Good Men opened with Don't Be That Way, Sometimes I'm Happy and One O'Clock Jump. It was Jan. 16th 1938 all over again. Clarinet maestro Long was to play the part of BG to perfection. A gaggle of front row latecomers were about to incur the wrath of bandleader Long. Clarinet in hand, our MD scolded the unfortunate ticket holders. Belatedly taking their seats, Long hit upon the idea of reprising the first three numbers. His Good Men shuffled their charts, Long counted them in, Don't Be That Way, four bars. The all-star ensemble obliged. Seconds later, Sometimes I'm Happy, four bars. And on it went. Your correspondent was more than happy to be up in the balcony!

The Fletcher Henderson Project @ Jamboree, London - Jan. 25

Malcolm Earle Smith (MD, trombone, vocals); Tom Gaddes, George Towle, Diggory Keyse (trumpets); Charlie Mellon, Dillon Pinder (trombones); Will Levett, Maisie Riley, Louis Allan-Sinclair, Theo Warren (reeds); Dan Tainty (guitar); Oscar Brady (piano); Adam Steele (double bass); Louis Chapman (drums); Kora Williams (vocals)

Take a professor of jazz and fourteen supremely talented young musicians, what have you got? The Fletcher Henderson Project, that's what! Professor Malcolm Earle Smith coaches a group of Trinity Laban music students and they've got themselves a regular gig at Jamboree, King's Cross, London. Our MD observed that his young charges are, understandably, into modern jazz. The music of Fletcher Henderson and his contemporaries - Ellington, Mary Lou et al - was new to most of them. How would they fare? 

Late Night Chicago Radio w. Denny Farrell (Jan. 29 - Feb. 3)

André Previn: I Know Why.

Billie Holiday: Sophisticated Lady.

Joe Pass: The Song is You.

Bob Brookmeyer: I Can't Get it Started.

Lee Wiley: Manhattan.

Dizzy Gillespie/Stan Getz: Lover Come Back to me.

June Christy: Something Cool.

Nat 'King' Cole: Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You.

Art Pepper: Deep Purple.

Jimmy Roselli: ?.

Joey DeFrancesco: Fly me to the Moon.

Jazz Crusaders: ?

LISTEN 24/7

Pete Roth Trio @ The Forum Music Centre, Darlington - Jan. 27

Pete Roth (guitar); Mike Pratt (bass); Bill Bruford (drums) 

A full house on Borough Road. The attraction? Guitarist Pete Roth. The attraction, take two? Drummer Bill Bruford. The latter was the 'name'. From King Crimson to Yes to Bruford to Earthworks and more, it's likely drummer Bruford attracted an audience of 'prog rock' fans. Looking around the capacity auditorium, familiar 'jazz faces' were all but absent.

At eight thirty on the dot, Pete Roth, Mike Pratt and Bill Bruford strolled out onto the stage. Across the course of two sets (2 x 45 mins) plus not one, but two encores, Roth would address his audience after playing two numbers, then another two numbers (this would be the pattern throughout the evening). An engaging character, Roth didn't set about dominating the stage, far from it, his bandmates, bassist Mike Pratt, and the aforementioned Bruford, were very much partners in a trio performance. 

Press release: Jazz FM, One Jazz and Tomorrow’s Warriors announce second series of I AM WARRIOR. A six-part radio series from 31 January 2026 spotlighting emerging UK jazz talent

Jazz FM and One Jazz, leading broadcasters in the world of jazz radio, return with a second series of I AM WARRIOR, a co-production with the world-renowned talent development organisation and charity,  Tomorrow’sWarriors. 

The series introduces listeners to three of today’s most exciting emerging artists from the Tomorrow’s Warriors programme, reaffirming the broadcasters’ shared commitment to championing the next generation of UK jazz talent and providing them with a national broadcast platform.

Over six episodes, I AM WARRIOR introduces three artists; pianist and composer Emily Tran, singer-songwriter Kianja and trombonist-composer Christ-Stéphane Boizi.

Each episode sees one of the three rising stars weave personal storytelling with music from classic artists who’ve inspired and shaped their sound - alongside their own tracks and selections from Tomorrow’s Warriors alumni and fellow contemporaries across the current UK jazz scene.