CD Review: Jordon Dixon - On!

Jordon Dixon (tenor sax); Allyn Johnson (piano); Herman Burney (bass); Carroll V. Dashiell III (drums) + J.S. Williams (trumpet on 2 tracks)

(Review by Lance).

The CDs arrive daily via the mailman. They turn up in such abundance that I feel sorry for the postie whose back must surely be near breaking point. The sad thing is that such is the volume that, even after farming out a large percentage, so many of them don't get heard so - maybe I'm missing the next Kind of Blue - maybe not.

The moment that makes it all worthwhile is when you play a CD and, from the first note of the first bar you say, "This is for me!" Which is what happened here.

CD Review: Carol Sudhalter Quartet - Live at Saint Peter's Church

Carol Sudhalter (baritone sax/flute/vocal - 5); Patrick Poladian (piano); Kevin Hailey (bass); Mike Campenni (drums).

(Review by Lance)

This one had slipped off my radar until I read a DownBeat review where it was allotted a paltry 2½ stars. I decided to dig it out of the pile and check if the live recording in St. Peter's Church, NY, was really that bad. I decided it wasn't.

Sudhalter, niece* of trumpeter and Beiderbecke biographer Richard,  is somewhat leaden at times on baritone yet still manages to tame the beast and the ideas are there if not always the fluidity. As the man from DB pointed out, Sudhalter is heard at her best on flute. The acoustics do her no favours on the vocal Colin Blues although, paradoxically, her flute solo on this number is one of the high spots of the album.

Sue Ferris Quintet @ Blaydon Jazz Club - May 19

Sue Ferris (tenor sax, flute); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Paul Edis (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Rob Walker (drums) 

(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Jerry)

The Sue Ferris Quintet plays too few gigs so this Blaydon Jazz Club date was an opportunity to catch up with the fine County Durham based saxophonist. The quintet comprised longstanding collaborators with one enforced change. Frontline partner Graham Hardy made it to the Black Bull, as did pianist Paul Edis and drummer Rob Walker with the one absentee, bassist Neil Harland, somewhere south of the Watford Gap. Ferris gave Andy Champion a call, he was available and, following an afternoon engagement on Newcastle's Quayside, arrived in good time for the seven-thirty start.

Philip Clouts Quartet @ The Globe Jazz Bar - May 19.

Philip Clouts (keys); Sammy Eagles (alto/soprano sax); Tim Fairhall (bass); Kiran Bhatt (drums).

(Review by Lance).

One minute they were standing shoulder to shoulder at the downstairs bar of the Jazz Coop's operational base, The Globe, and next minute they weren't. The vast majority had supped up and offed to the nearby Arena where Mark Knopfler appeared to have pulled a cup final sized crowd.

Back at The Globe,  the tango dancers filed in upstairs and, thankfully, the downstairs bar filled up - perhaps they'd been to the Arena for a pre-gig pint!

On stage, Cape Town-born Clouts and his cohorts set-up before taking us on an ethnic journey round the Townships. It began lowkey and ended in a similar vein but, in between, we had some scintillating music - indeed, one of Clouts' compositions was titled Scintillate!

A Closer Walk to Charts - May 19

James Harrison (piano); Andy Champion (bass); Abbie Finn (drums) + Zoë Gilby (vocals), Alice Grace (vocals); Ben Helm (guitar).

(Review by Russell)

Charts has recently acquired itself a baby grand piano - hallelujah! Playing it this Sunday afternoon was none other than Teessider James Harrison working in the esteemed company of Andy Champion and Abbie Finn. 

Blue Skies, Sunny, the trio in fine form. Few in, as usual, then up stepped Zoë Gilby to sing, by way of tribute to the late, great Doris Day - Secret Love - fantastic! 

Something Latin then Body and Soul and, to close the first of three sets, Harrison called Just a Closer Walk With Thee - hallelujah! 

An interval chat with all and sundry, an Anarchy refill then onto the second set. Their monthly Bonbar residency done and dusted Alice Grace and Ben Helm wandered down to the Quayside to sit-in here at Charts. Route 66 (all the evocative place names - Flagstaff, Arizona, Gallop, New Mexico etc in the right order!). Then, a fabulous rendition of As Time Goes By. At this juncture, your correspondent made his excuses and left (reminiscent of the News of the Screws!) in order to get to Sue Ferris' gig on time at the Black Bull in Blaydon. 

Russell.

Sweet & Hot @ Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club - May 18

Sweet & Hot: Jeff Barnhart (piano, vocals); Anne Barnhart (flute, vocals); Spats Langham (guitar, banjo, vocals); Graham Smith (drums, washboard)

(Review by Russell)

The Barnharts have been up and down the motorways on the first of their two extensive annual tours, Spats Langham has been busy crisscrossing Europe and Graham Smith has been putting the finishing touches to this year's Pershore Jazz Festival. Busy though they are the four friends made time to play a few Sweet and Hot gigs with Darlington's St Augustine's Parish Centre a favourite on the itinerary.     

What I Did At the Late Shows - May 18

(Ann Alex)

I love the annual Late Shows, when museums and art galleries etc are open after hours, to show us aspects of their work which we don't usually see, and to provide live music, food and other goodies.

I stepped off the Metro at Newcastle Central Station, only to be utterly frightened by an event called Flux. This was a large screen on the station concourse, showing pink, yellow and black shapes, representing the air pollution in Newcastle in places such as Jesmond, the Redheugh Bridge, and the Coast Road. There was sound as well, moaning low sounds, and lots of black shaped nitrogen dioxide.

CD Review: Billy Brandt - City Noir

(Review by Lance)

Billy Brandt takes us down these mean streets. The blurb describes his voice as being like dark roasted coffee with a  hint of cream - I'll drink to that. It's a Bogie movie, a Jim Thompson novel, a painting by Edward Hopper, a stranger you meet on a train, Route 66 in a minor key, maybe Lana Turner or Barbara Stanwyck helping you to murder their surplus to requirement husbands.

CD Review: Marton Juhasz - Discovery

Marton Juhasz (composition, drums); Yumi Ito (vocals, text (track 8); Sergio Wagner (trumpet, flugelhorn); Paco Andreo (valve trombone); Enrique Oliver (tenor sax); Syzmon Mika (guitar); Olga Konkova (piano, Fender Rhodes); Danny Ziemann (bass)

(Review by Ann Alex)

This review marks my promotion on BSH, to reviewing a mainly instrumental CD, rather than a singer's CD. Then I read the written information, which tells me that a certain Lance Liddle heard this drummer at a gig, and stated that he had a 'prodigious technique'. I'm not sure if that helps or hinders, but I'll judge for myself anyway, thank you! 

Judge I did, and I loved what I heard. There are 11 tracks of original music, composed by the drummer, played adventurously and well by all, with the drummer fitting in seamlessly with the others, which to my mind shows us a musician who knows that the actual music comes first.

Preview: Kamasi Washington @ Sage Gateshead, Tuesday 21 May

(Preview by Russell)

The Epic said it all - ambitious, sprawling, three discs (yes, it was made available on vinyl), Los Angeles born bandleader, saxophonist, collaborator, producer, Kamasi Washington's high-profile recording secured media attention beyond that of the regular jazz press. 

On Tuesday the 38-year-old American rocks up at Sage Gateshead. Touring the UK, Europe then back to the States, this is the long-awaited opportunity for Tynesiders to check-out the man who has acquired a cult following - not least among the Millennial generation - thanks to his association with Flying Lotus, Thundercat and Kendrick Lamar. 

Preview: Philip Clouts Quartet @ The Globe Sunday, May 19

Philip Clouts, piano; Samuel Eagles, saxes; Tim Fairhall, bass; Kiran Bhatt, drums

(Press release)

Cape Town-born pianist/composer Clouts’ South African roots have inspired a voyage of discovery that has led to him soaking up the joyful passion of Caribbean calypso, the bluesy melodies of middle eastern praise songs, the exuberant sway of Cuban dance music and the tuneful essence of Gospel while honouring jazz heroes including Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and Charles Lloyd. 

Preview: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Blaydon Jazz Club Sunday May 19

(Preview by Russell/archive photo))

On Sunday evening at the Black Bull, there is an all too rare appearance by one of the region's finest saxophonists and flautists. County Durham resident Sue Ferris is well known to jazz fans across the north of England and beyond as a versatile musician equally proficient in a small group setting or full-scale orchestral project. 

BSH readers familiar with the much missed Voice of the North Jazz Orchestra will recall Sue's blistering baritone sax solos in a band of stellar soloists, similarly the diminutive saxophonist invariably blows the proverbial roof off blowing baritone in Gerry Richardson's roaring Big Idea.