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Playlist 01/11/26 (repeated Tuesday 03/11/26)
Durham Jazz Festival: Marvin Muoneké, Billy Eckstine, Federico Luongo.
Memories: Clifford Brown, Illinois Jacquet, Phil Woods, Joe Turner.
Requests: Mildred Bailey, Capp-Pierce Juggernaut.
Mercury Prize: Raye.
Memories: Zoot Sims.
Requests: Oscar Peterson.
What’s on in the NE: Jasmine Myra, Fergus McCreadie, Spats Langham, Ewan Bleach & the Cable Street Ragtime Band.
Centenary: John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman.
Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington Area and via your smart speaker.
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| © Roly |
It’s great to be able to buy a Jasper Høiby album on CD again as the last couple have only been available on vinyl or download. Høiby first came to notice as a member of the Phronesis trio who toured a few times to the north east, most notably on the Walking Dark tour which, if I remember correctly, was a tribute to Høiby’s sister, who was blind, with the concerts being illuminated only by the emergency exit signs, all other lighting extinguished. Since Phronesis, Høiby has operated as a bandleader in Fellow Creatures and now leads his constantly changing 3 Elements trio in which he has been the only constant member. Across this period he has increasingly turned to the environment for his inspiration, most notably on the Plan B album.
Richard Morris wrote most of the reviews apart from the Jo Harrup album launch and the Pete Roth Trio which were by Colin Muirhead.
Individual links below:
Pete Roth (guitars);
Mike Pratt (electric bass); Bill Bruford (drums)
© Colin Muirhead
Day 2 of the Durham Jazz
Festival continued with the much-anticipated arrival of a trio founded just a
few years ago - and the return to Durham of a music legend.
I first heard Bill Bruford over 20 years ago with his band Earthworks and I was mightily impressed then. His drumming was outstanding and literally, he didn’t miss a beat. I shouldn’t have been surprised; after all, Bill had co-founded Yes in the late 1960s, played for many years in King Crimson and other bands, and was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Like many others, I was saddened to hear of his retirement from performing and recording in 2009 but delighted to hear of his return to the scene as part of the Pete Roth Trio in 2022. Nevertheless, as Pete, Mike and Bill took to the stage, I wondered if I would still feel the same way about Bill’s drumming as I had all those years previously.
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| © Richard Morris |
And now for something completely different! A duet concert by virtuoso double bass player Andy Champion and award winning vocalist Zoë Gilby. Pared back songs of various genres with some of these songs written by some of my very favourite artists. I was hooked. Therefore not all jazz songs but many given a jazzy feel, some scatting and Zoë’s unique and very fine vocals - a real treat and, unsurprisingly, was yet another a sell out in an intimate venue.
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| © Richard Morris |
Another sold
out concert!
I had the
benefit of seeing Marvin live the previous evening guesting with the Strictly
Smokin’ Big Band at the Gala Theatre. Such was his performance I was grateful I
had had the foresight to put this concert in my diary some weeks in advance.
This young man is an immense multi-talented vocalist, trumpeter and arranger. The
three other musicians were well known to me. Dean in fact had led his own quartet
immediately prior to this concert. I had last seen Abbie play at the
Lit & Phil with Greg Abate.
The concert kicked off with Young Man With the Old Soul composed by Marvin on which he sang and played trumpet. Two standards popular with jazz musicians: This Could be the Start of Something Big and I’m Beginning to See the Light showcased Marvin’s vocal range and power. Play it Cool was a tune Marvin had released the previous Friday. Abbie sat out the next song Moonlight in Vermont which featured Dean on piano and the most beautiful of vocals by Marvin.
Sunday November 1st 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)
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| © Richard Morris |
This concert on the second day of Durham Jazz Festival was billed as a thrilling meeting of velvet vocals and full throttle big band swing with classic crooner charm, punchy brass and a show with timeless standards. On this evening as part of the festival 2025 Mercury Music Prize nominees Knats were also playing down the road at Fabio's Bar and jazz vocalist Eleanor Kouneni was at the Claypath Delicatessen. What a lineup the organisers of the festival had fashioned for this evening. I was pleased with my choice of concert and the Gala Theatre was very close to a full house.
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| © Jack Childs |
The first album, Count Down to Christmas, is a festive record for the orchestra’s 40-piece big-band-with-strings line-up, with most of the musical arrangements written by conductor Mike Paul-Smith and fellow arranger and original band member Simon Joyner. It is the orchestra's second Christmas album, following Swing Into Christmas, released in 2021, and brings together festive standards and lesser-known seasonal material in Down for the Count's unique large swing ensemble setting. A second, non-festive album follows in spring 2027.
Alex Clarke (alto sax); Dean Stockdale (keys); Adrian Knowles (double
bass); Gaz Hughes (drums)
© Jeff Pritchard
This concert should have included
singer/saxist Emily Masser but, as Paul Hartley explained in his opening
announcement, her car had broken down at Heathrow.
I thought I knew most of the bass players that worked in the north west but I don’t think I've come across Adrian Knowles before. He’s from the Leeds area and can play that’s for sure.
Alex started the show with that great Clifford Brown 12 bar blues Sandu a good choice I thought. The second number was a standard that I think was from Frank Sinatra's epic album Songs For Swinging Lovers - You Make Me Feel So Young.
Other tunes were by composers such as Thelonious Monk, Bronislaw Kapers Kurt Weill ; Hank Mobley; Carlos Jobim etc.
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| © Richard Morris |
This concert took place on Sunday, the last day of the three day Durham Jazz Festival 2026, to a sold out audience. I thoroughly enjoyed the three day festival attending eight concerts. Most were sell outs or very close to it. The festival was exceedingly well organised. It was many decades since I last stayed in Durham so all the venues I attended were fresh to me. This venue provided a large stage for the musicians with good acoustics and a large Steinway grand piano for Dean to feast his fingers on. This was the first concert of the day for Dean but a marathon day for him would include playing piano at another concert and then a long drive to Stockport for an evening concert. What a trooper!
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| © Richard Morris |
Another sold out concert, held in the interior courtyard of St Chad’s College, opened day two of the three day Durham Jazz Festival 2026.
The afternoon’s programme consisted of tunes composed by Paul and Vasilis from a soon to be released album titled A Place Called Home. Andy, Steve and Paul, of course, are musicians I have seen play live on multiple occasions but this was the first time I had seen Vasilis play live and it most certainly will not be the last. He is an amazing player on both tenor and soprano sax.
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| © Richard Morris |
Like many of the concerts in the 2026 Durham Jazz Festival, the
opening night - held within the glorious setting of a grade ll listed building - was a sell out
Although the show has been touring the UK for a number of years, I’d
previously only seen Polly, Alex and James at an actual gig. Polly has forged
a successful career on the international jazz circuit and been twice nominated
as best jazz vocalist by the BBC and Jazz FM, Alex is a very impressive
saxophone player and James is well on his way to becoming the iconic figure the
show’s inspiration was
A couple of instrumentals for starters, including Dizzy Gillespie’s, Groovin’ High before Polly joined the band on stage - her vocal range and technique immediately apparent. This was particularly noticeable on Duke Ellington’s I’m Just a Lucky So and So and I Let a Song go Out of my Heart. Both these songs were recorded by Sarah Vaughan who was Ronnie Scott’s favourite female vocalist.
Saturday 7th November| Glasgow Art Club | Doors 7.00pm | Music 7.30pm
Members: £15 / Non-Members & guests of members: £20
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| © Colin Muirhead |
Day two of the Durham Jazz
Festival got off to an auspicious start with the return to the north east of vocalist
Jo Harrop. Now based in London, Jo was
showcasing her new album Love Now, Pay Later, recorded in L.A. and produced
by Chris Seefried. The north east
connection carried through to Jo’s band, with Jamie and Paul having also grown
up in the area and Andy still based here (no pun intended).
The venue was the light and airy atrium inside St Chad’s College; a lovely location, although it was difficult to see all the musicians from the back of the room. And, like many of the concerts at the festival, the event was sold out, with standing room only around the edges of the quad.
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| © Sylvia |
A couple of new (to me) sites that are worth checking out.
The Jimmy Deuchar Archives. As the name implies this F/b site is dedicated to the memory of the late, great Scottish trumpet player Jimmy Deuchar who many of us remember either live or on record from his work with Ronnie Scott, Tubby Hayes and the Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland Big Band to mention but some. Lots of info here for us boppers to absorb.
Jazzland, the longest running jazz club in Austria, was brought to my attention yesterday by Mike Farmer who'd flown over by a circuitous route to Vienna to hear Greg Abate. There's a host of interesting items including photos of the many greates who have played. Looking at the names I guess a lot of them crossed the North Sea to play UK gigs including Newcastle's Corner House.
Just goes to show that the adage seek and ye shall find applies very much to jazz in all its many forms. Lance
When I learned that Greg was going to be in Vienna I just had to get myself over there. Not an easy task as all the direct flights were booked up but, with the help of my travel agent, I got there on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 1.00pm having had to change planes at Frankfurt. I decided not to attend the opening night gig as I had not slept for 24 hours. However, I did make it for the Friday and Saturday gigs and both nights were amazing with Greg playing at the top of his game.
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Playlist 25/10/26 (repeated Tuesday 27/10/26)
Seasonal: Paul Desmond.
Requests/Memories. Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Heath Quintet, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Red & Miff's Stompers, Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra.
New Releases: John Donegan, Noel Langley.
Requests: Regina Carter/Jimmy Rosenberg.
RIP: Norah Jones/Dolly Parton, Oliver Jones.
Requests: J Martin, Duke Ellington.
What’s on in the NE: Sarah Heneghan.
Centenary: Miles Davis & John Coltrane.
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| © Patti |
I was impressed with Dreamer's Ball when I reviewed the album back in 2023 and, although less jazz related, Play On is, in its own way, equally enjoyable
Poole's originals are just that - original. The lyrics tell stories. Stories the listener can relate to be they joy, sadness, anticipation or disappointment. 'Purdy', her alta ego, covers them all in style.
Well worth a punt if your into contemporary singer/songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian or even Shirley Horn. Lance
Release date: Nov. 6. Album launch @ Crazy Coqs on Nov. 4
Good News Baby; Something is Found; You Still Make me Laugh; Woman; Love is on Your Side; Memories; Desert Flower; For All Time; Sweet Gene; In Another Life; Play On
Sunday October 25, 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)
