Teddy Edwards @ Darlington

Teddy Edwards, one of the all-time great bebop tenor sax players alongside Wardell, Dexter and Gene, was born on April 26, 1924, which was 100 years ago yesterday. Alyn Shipton paid tribute to the occasion on last week's JRR as others have, or will do, on various jazz stations around the world.

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

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

Playlist 28/04/24 (repeated Tuesday 30/04/24) 

Requests: Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, Bix Beiderbecke, Oscar Peterson, Gerry Mulligan Qt + Chet Baker.

Memories: Ella Fitzgerald, Ma Rainey, Jimmy Giuffre, Modern Jazz Quartet, Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, Teddy Edwards, Dexter Gordon.

Jazz on the Tyne takes 5, with special guest Michael Lamb

To mark the fifth anniversary of Jazz on the Tyne, presenter Colin Muirhead chats with Michael Lamb, leader of the Strictly Smokin’ Big Band, about the new album “Strictly Smokin’ & Friends” and about upcoming shows.  Along with tracks by the band, you’ll hear music by George Benson, Stu Collingwood, Jo Harrop, Signe Emmeluth, Fergus McCreadie, and Makoto Ozone.

You can listen to the programme anytime HERE.

Plus, you can request tunes 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.

Jo Harrop & Paul Edis w. Ken Marley @ Clothworkers' Centenary Concert Hall, Leeds University - April 27

Jo Harrop (vocals); Paul Edis (piano); Ken Marley (double bass)

Jo Harrop and Paul Edis are on a short tour of northern England and their itinerary includes one or two performances with Newcastle-born, west of the Pennines resident, bassist Ken Marley. Following a Thursday evening concert performance at Seven Arts in Leeds, our trio arrived at Leeds University's School of Music for a Friday lunchtime engagement in the historic Clothworkers' Centenary Concert Hall. 

Paul Skerritt w. the Danny Miller Big Band @ the Glasshouse - April 26

(© Patti)

Swing singer Skerritt is moving up the ranks. He may have yet to conquer Vegas but that horizon no longer looks to be quite as distant, at least that's the way it seemed last night at the Glasshouse.

Backed by the punchy 18 piece Danny Miller Big Band from Liverpool, seven of whom are actually north east based*, he entertained a near capacity Sage Two audience with expertly tweaked covers of songs from the repertoire of Sinatra, Bennett, Bublé, Bennett, Tormé, Darin, Connick Jr., Anka, Stevie Wonder and Take That.

Samara Joy @ Birmingham Town Hall - April 25

Samara Joy (vocals); Connor Rohrer (piano); Felix Moseholm (double bass); Evan Sherman (drums); Kendrick McCallister (tenor sax); David Mason (alto sax, flute); Jason Charos (trumpet); Donavan Austin (trombone) 

First Emmet's Place, then Ronnie's, this evening Birmingham Town Hall. Samara Joy, all of 23, is touring the world as the bona fide superstar she has so rapidly become. Accompanying our NYC-based singer was an all-star septet featuring several familiar names. The suited-and-booted septet walked out onto Birmingham Town Hall's vast stage, took their seats and began to play. We were awaiting Ms Joy's entrance. And there she was, strolling out from the wings. An almighty roar greeted our superstar. Wow! 

Tonight @ the Glasshouse: Paul Skerritt w. the Danny Miller Big Band.

Tonight north east jazz and swing singer Paul Skerritt makes his Glasshouse debut with a concert in Sage Two in the venue previously known as Sage Gateshead.

Backing Paul will be the fourteen piece Danny Miller Big Band. The band, mainly from the north west (although usually with a couple of top notch local ringers), has backed Paul on several occasions, including a couple of concerts at South Shields' Westovian Theatre where packed houses gave singer and band a standing ovation and deservedly so.

Album review: Ricky Alexander - Just Found Joy (Turtle Bay Records)

Ricky Alexander (soprano sax, clarinet, vocals, arrangements); Jon-Erik Kellso (cornet); Dalton Ridenhour (piano); Jon Thomas (piano tks 1,3,4,6,7,11); Brennen Ernst (guitar tks 2,4,8,9,10,12); Rob Atkins (bass); Kevin Dorn (drums) + Vanisha Gould (vocals tks 2,5,8,10).

Despite being basically a quintet, the overall feeling I get from my first listen is of those 1940 recordings by the Bechet-Spanier Big Four. On soprano, Alexander has that wide vibrato associated with Bechet although Kellso is a more assertive figure than Muggsy was which makes for more of a level playing field. The illusion is particularly compounded on those tracks where Ernst provides a link between the two just as Carmen Mastren did on the Bechet-Spanier dates. 

This week's Late Night Chicago Radio with Denny Farrell (Thursday April 25 - Wednesday May 1).

George Shearing Quintet: I'll Remember April.

Charlie Parker w. strings: April in Paris.

Gene Ammons All-Stars: Jim Dog. 

Mel Tormé: Body and Soul.

Billy Taylor: Easy Like.

Lester Young w. Count Basie: Polka Dots and Moonbeams. 

Four Freshmen and 5 Saxes: This Love of Mine.

Their mothers called them Arthur

(© Ken Drew)

The knockout concert by Art Themen (pictured) at the Globe last Sunday got me to thinking as to how a lot of great jazz musicians were called by, or adopted, that first name. It also had me imagining what if the 'Great Reaper' had worked his wonders to perform and reincarnated those 'Arts' that were no longer with us to join those that are still around. Imagine this line-up (and, according to Fats Waller, God himself would be on piano!):

Art Farmer (trumpet); Art Baron (trombone); Art Pepper (alto sax); Art Ellefson (tenor sax); Art Themen (soprano/tenor sax); Art Tatum (piano); Art Davis (bass); Art Blakey (drums); Art Baxter (vocals). 

Also, waiting for their wings, Artie Shaw (clarinet), Artie Bernstein (bass), Art Hodes (piano), Art Lund (vocals) and Art Taylor (drums). Lance