Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Blaydon Jazz Club - Aug 15

Stu Collingwood (organ, vocals); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Abbie Finn (drums)

The Hammond organ sound is as popular today as it has been for many a long year. 1950s'/60s' recordings featuring Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, Richard 'Groove' Holmes and others established the art form, since when it has had many adherents. Tyneside boasts its own practitioners and one of them played a storming gig at this month's Blaydon Jazz Club session. 

Don't knock the rock until you know where it's been!

Before they became pop/rock stars many future icons began in a jazz environment - here are a few.

Bing Crosby: Bing began as part of The Rhythm Boys with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra that included Bix, Trumbauer, the Dorseys and Eddie Lang. Bing always had a jazzy twist to his voice back then. Conversely, Sinatra's jazz sense only emerged many years later with the help of Nelson Riddle.

Nat Cole: The Nat Cole Trio was, perhaps, the swingingest trio around in the 1940s. However, once he signed with Capitol, became 'King' Cole and recorded million-sellers like Mona Lisa and Too Young with lavish  string accompaniments, the jazz slipped off the radar despite his being, arguably, the first great bebop jazz pianist.

Preview: Newcastle Jazz Festival (Day 4) Sunday August 21

The fourth and final day of this year's Newcastle Jazz Festival gets under way at 1:30pm with Lindsay Hannon singing Tom Waits. Wittily billed as Tom Waits for No Man, Lindsay (pictured) will be joined for the occasion by pianist Alan Law. In addition, there is the prospect of our duo being fleshed out into a trio by the participation of a - no names, no pack drill - Tyneside bass player! 

Tyne Bank Brewery and several mobile artisan food outlets will cater to your every need. Naturally, the beers are brewed by the good people of Tyne Bank. 

Munch Manship Quartet @ the Railway, Stockport - Aug. 14

(© Jeff Pritchard)

Munch Manship (tenor sax/flute/piccolo); Richard Wetherall (piano); Grant Russell (bass); Eryl Roberts (drums).

Munch has been a fixture on the Manchester jazz scene for as long as I can remember which is a pretty long time but he shows no sign of slowing down - I’m glad to say! 

He opened up the concert to an almost full house going straight into a fast hard bop version of that great Clifford Brown composition Joy Spring. The second tune also had the word Spring in the title which was Freddie Hubbard’s Up Jumped Spring that was done in ¾ time as the composer intended.  It has just occurred to me that it might be fun to play a whole evening of tunes with a Spring theme - there are plenty to choose from!

Album review: Brian Landrus - Red List

Brian Landrus (baritone sax, bass clarinet,  flutes); Corey King (vocals); Geoffrey Keezer (piano, keys); Jaleel Shaw (alto sax); John Hadfield (percussion); Lonnie Plaxico (bass); Nir Felder (guitar); Ron Blake tenor sax); Rudy Royston (drums); Ryan Keberle (trombone); Steve Roach (trumpet,  flugelhorn)

Brain Landrus is not just concerned about the Earth’s declining ecological diversity, he is absolutely furious and there are parts of this album that assail the ears in a way that attempts to convey the full force of his fury and the accompanying desperation. On this album he has focused on thirteen of the most endangered animals on the Red List, the International Union for Conservation of Nature list that identifies the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species. Jasper Hoiby covered similar ecological themes on his 2020 album Planet B and we can go back to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On in 1971 for the high profile release that included the much covered recently Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology).

Chilling with Joe on JRR (Aug 14)

Hot on the heels of a successful album launch gig at the 100 Club, pianist Joe Webb makes it onto today's Jazz Record Requests' play list. Joe is in good company...Louis, Miles, Barbara Thompson and more. Join Alyn Shipton at four o'clock on BBC Radio 3 to discover which track has been requested from Joe's Summer Chill album - Russell.

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

Playlist 14/08/22. (Repeated Tuesday 16/08/22)

Requests: Dave Brubeck Trio, Hailu Mergia & Dahlak Band,
Requests from Darlington New Orleans Jazz Cub:  Bunk Johnson, Tenement Jazz Band, Louis Armstrong All Stars, New Orleans Rhythm Kings, River City Hot Six, Sammy Rimington.

RIP: Barbara Thompson.

Newcastle Jazz Festival: Strictly Smokin' Big Band, Jo Harrop & Jamie McCredie, Lindsay Hannon, Emma Rawicz.

Album review: The Yellowjackets - Parallel Motion

Russell Ferrante (piano/keys); Bob Mintzer (tenor/soprano sax); Will Kennedy (drums/keys); Dane Alderson (elec. bass/MIDI sequencing); Jean Baylor (vocals on tk 8)

I'm never quite sure where The Yellowjackets stand in the jazz pantheon these days. For over 40 years they've been at the forefront of the jazz/fusion scene and I recall being impressed by them at Ronnie's a few years back. Perhaps such longevity breeds the contempt associated with familiarity. 

Global Cooling this Sunday @ the Globe

A one off evening special of our long running Am Jam session, in the ground floor bar of The Globe.*

Come and play or just have a drink and cool off. Very relaxed. Admission is free but cash donations are very welcome.

Am Jam is designed specifically to encourage musicians who may not have much experience of jazz jam sessions. It’s a supportive environment. There will be a house trio to keep the music flowing. Instrumentalists and vocalists welcome to step up. Repertoire is well-known jazz standards.

Sunday Night Am Jam Special @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

*The rest of the year it's 3-6pm 2nd Sunday of the month.

Album review: Dameronia's Legacy Al-Stars - Live at Audi Forum Ingolstadt

Jim Rotundi (trumpet - USA); Dick Oatts (alto sax - USA); Jon Boutellier (tenor sax - FR); Rik van den Bergh (baritone sax - NL); Johannes Herrlich (trombone - DE); Andrea Pozza (piano - IT); Aldo Zunino (bass - IT);  Bernd Reiter (drums - AT).

One of my favourite LPs is Tadd Dameron’s  1962 Riverside album The Magic Touch and I am pleased to note that on this excellent CD, recorded live at the Audi Forum, Ingolstadt, Bavaria, there are three tunes from The Magic Touch album - On a Misty Night, If You Could See Me Now and Look, Stop and Listen.