Jeff Barnhart @ the Lit and Phil - Sept. 16

Jeff Barnhart (piano, vocals)

Pianist, composer, arranger, vocalist, Jeff Barnhart is all of these things and more and today, in Newcastle, he played to a capacity audience at The Lit and Phil’s monthly lunchtime concert series. This was another in the series that sold out weeks in advance and it didn’t take long to see why.

Marco Woolf + Faye MacCalman @ the Globe - Sept. 15

(© Ken Drew)

Marco Woolf (acoustic guitar, vocals); Carmel Smickersgill (electric guitar, vocals); ? (saxophone); Andy Patterson(bass); Miriam Willott (percussion) + Faye MacCalman (reeds, voice, electronics)

Marco Woolf may well have created his own genre of music combing improvised storytelling with jazz - maybe it could be labelled Jazzanory!

Woolf is a cool and charismatic character and the performance at the Globe on Thursday evening was quite captivating. Most of the set told the story of the lifecycle of a young woman called Francine from small child to adult. Woolf’s gentle words dovetailed nicely with the rest of the band and a special mention must be made for Miriam Willmott on the drum kit and the saxophone player, who’s name I sadly didn’t catch, they both excelled.

Hot Club du Nord @ the Black Swan - Sept. 15

Emma Fisk (violin); James Birkett, Dave Harris (guitars); Bruce Rollo (bass)

Mary B sent a photo from last night's gig at the Black Swan reporting on the excellence of the music and the shouts for more at the end. Regrettably, I couldn't make it but, from past experience, I know what a good performance they always deliver.  Lance

You never forget the first time...How was it for you?

I've often asked myself the question as to when/how it was that I first heard jazz and became hooked.

Answer is, I don't really know! It was certainly in the early fifties just after I'd left school and started buying records (78s). Back then jazz and popular music - the latter had yet to be reduced to a three letter word or, in some cases, a four letter word - were still, more or less, working the same side of the street. Family Favourites or Housewife's Choice had no inhibitions about playing Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong or even Stan Kenton alongside Guy Mitchell, Johnny Ray or Frankie Laine.

Jazz on the Tyne previews the Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music 2022

To preview this year’s Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music, presenter Colin Muirhead has prepared two podcasts, featuring his interview with festival producer Wesley Stephenson, and music by many of the acts who will be performing there.

The first programme, which will be available on Mixcloud from noon on Saturday 17^th September, includes music by Archipelago, Andrew Woodhead’s Pendulums project, SA Malley, Skylla, the Anthropology Band, Mark Solborg, Maniscalco/Bignoni/Solborg, Binker Golding, and Alexander Hawkins.

Album review: Tim Fitzgerald's Full House

Tim Fitzgerald (guitar); Victor Garcia (trumpet); Greg Ward (alto sax); Chris Madsen (tenor sax); Tom Vaitsas (piano); Christian Dillingham (bass); George Fludas (drums).

My kinda jazz! A tribute to Wes Montgomery by a guitarist who, in years to come, may well be receiving his own tributes. 

To the best of my knowledge Montgomery didn't record for Blue Note - his main albums were on Riverside, Verve and AMI - and, whilst the horns occasionally blow in an east coasterly direction, the feel is distinctly that of California albeit via Chicago where it was recorded and Fitzgerald is very much a part of that city's ever evolving jazz scene.

Press release: Samantha Fish @ Wylam Brewery - October 25

(Press release) Rock guitar dynamo Samantha Fish and outlaw country badass Jesse Dayton have joined forces for an upcoming album of collaborative music, due out in May 2023 via Rounder Records. In December, two cover songs and accompanying videos will be released in conjunction with four special concerts in the USA.  

Before her U.S. tour dates with Jesse Dayton, Samantha will embark on her own headline nationwide tour of the UK from October 15-27 with special guests Wille & The Bandits.  

R.I.P. Ramsey Lewis

The death of Ramsey Lewis yesterday at the age of 87 prompted me to post these two quotes from our Bebop Spoken There archives. That they were printed 50 years apart gives an indication of just how long the pianist had been at the top.

Ramsey Lewis: “I guess all piano players go through a phase when Bud Powell is God ” – (DownBeat May 6, 1965).

Ramsey Lewis: “In Washington, D.C., we used to pass this hotel and people would say, “That’s were Ella Fitzgerald stays!” I thought, “One day I’m going to stay at that hotel” – and that [success with The In Crowd] allowed me to.” – (DownBeat April 2015).

Album review: Charles Lloyd's A Trio of Trios - Volume Two: The Ocean Trio

Charles Lloyd (alto/tenor sax, alto flute); Gerald Clayton (piano); Anthony Wilson (guitar).

From the beginning, meaning has been assigned to numbers - practical, powerful, fanciful, philosophical, mystical, spiritual. For Pythagoras, 3 was considered the perfect number, the number of harmony, wisdom and understanding. It was also the number of time - past, present, future; birth, life, death; beginning, middle, end - it was the number of the divine.

So states Charles Lloyd in the notes to this, the second of three albums in his A Trio of Trios trilogy.

Needless to say, given the profundity of the above, this isn't a New Year's Eve album. Nevertheless, it is none the worse for that and is in actual fact quite delightful. 

R.I.P. Gordon McGregor

Just heard from Brian Bennett that reed player, Gordon McGregor, passed away on Sunday (Sept. 9). 

Brian refers to Gordon as a top-notch ‘jazzer’ on alto/soprano sax and clarinet and played alongside trumpeters Gerry Denning and Pete Wright for many years mainly around the Stockton/Teesside area. He was also a regular with the Belton brothers’ Tees Valley Jazzmen.