Jazz Café May Program.

Jazz Café phone 0191 2229882 25-27 Pink Lane near the Central Station

Open from 11am daily as a Cafe, closed Sun and Mondays. Fridays and Saturday  - admission free up to 9.00pm*, Live from 9.30pm - 11.30pm admission for most events £5 on the door, *Except Schmazz 

Full programme at   www.jazzcafe-newcastle.co.uk

Jazz Record Requests - BBC Radio 3 today 5pm.

Recorded live at Sage Gateshead on Day 2 of the GIJF - Listen here.
Interesting with one or two folks you may know.
Great selection of music not least Paul Edis' choice of a track by Vasilis Xenopoulos - surely one of the truly great underrated tenor players. "Vasy" is at The Bridge, Newcastle on Thursday April 24 and the following day at St Cuthbert's Centre Crook. Get your diary out now! Then go down to the bookies and put your house on it being the Gig of the Year but don't double it up with Sunderland avoiding relegation!
Lance.

If you happen to be out Tokyo way...

Konichiwa!

On Duke Ellington's 115th birthday Tuesday, April 29, I will play a concert of his music with subarashii bassist Koji Tetsui -- including Ellington classics and some less known songs.

This special event "Daryl At Duke's Place" at Tableaux Lounge starts 6:00 pm until 8:00pm.

Special guests: clarinetist Yoshihiko Miyazaki and singer Yasuko Nakatani.

I hope you will join us for this celebration of a jazz legend. Details below.

Arigato!  

Daryl Sherman  

contact:tableaux-lounge@global-dining.com www.darylsherman.com

Paul Edis Trio @ The Jazz Café. April 11 (second set)

(Review by Russell)

Good to see a group of young lads (musicians?) checking out the Paul Edis Trio. The second set proved to be just like the first…the best jazz piano trio you’ll hear west of NYC. Chatter from the back of the room receded as the trio resumed with Our Love is Here to Stay (Edis recalling the lilting style of Erroll Garner). Milestones/What is This Thing Called Love? heard the trio playing to the highest standards. B Minor Waltz won out over the distant chatter before Doxy took centre stage. 

Paul Edis Trio - Jazz Café April 11

Paul Edis (pno); Mick Shoulder (bs); Adam Sinclair (dms).

The Jazz Café had a fair smattering of punters in tonight. Some stayed, some left and there was much shifting around of seats before, eventually, we got our favourite pew 'twixt bar and piano.

In recent weeks, "The Caff" has seen no small percentage of the area's top pianomen in the spotlight. Collingwood, Gilligan, Glen, Harrison, Law and tonight Edis.

We are truly blessed in this neck of the woods to have so many magnificent manipulators of the well-tempered clavichord except this one tonight was a slightly ill-tempered Hyundai! If it was an Hyundai car it wouldn't have passed its MOT!

Blood Count - Radio 4

Quite a delightful and at times poignant drama by trumpet player and dramatist Ian Smith on Radio 4 this afternoon (available on BBC iplayer for 7 days) in which a lady reporter for Time Magazine interviews Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn during the course of the latter's last recording session.

Clarke Peters gives a convincing performance as the urbane, sophisticated Ellington fending questions from Ashleigh Naddad as interviewer Elaine Robillard. Don Gillet as Strayhorn also gives a realistic performance as a man philosophically viewing the cancer that is killing him even changing the title of his final piece to Blood Count.

Robillard tries to get Ellington to admit he stole some of Strayhorn's music but neither of the two men give direct answers and the listener is left with the impression that both needed each other.

Musical snatches can be heard including a complete version of Ellington's monologue - Pretty and the Wolf.

Worth checking the iplayer link.

Musicians: Ian Smith (tpt); Alan Barnes (reeds); Dave Newton (pno); Andy Cleyndert (bs); Matt Holm (dms).

Lance.

Virtuoso Jazz Trio @ The Lit & Phil. April 11

George MacDonald (clarinet), James Birkett (guitar), & Tony Abell (double bass) + Bernice MacDonald (vocals)

(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Jerry Edis).

The latest in the Lit and Phil’s monthly lunchtime concert series presented the Virtuoso Jazz Trio. The trio’s performances are few and far between and this city centre date drew a large audience keen to hear timeless material from the Great American Songbook. Three Gershwin tunes to begin with: But Not For Me, Somebody Loves Me and Lady Be Good. Clarinet virtuoso George MacDonald took the first solo of the afternoon, on the second number virtuoso guitarist James Birkett developed a solo from a welter of chords and on a swift Lady Be Good virtuoso bassist Tony Abell swung none stop. 

The Collective @ Hoochie Coochie. April 10.

Tim Bloomer (gtr); Dominic Snaith (pno); Martyn Dixon (bs); Paul Crown (dms) + Elliott Todd (tpt/flug).

The young guns were on target once again with their brand of jazz rock, funk, fusion call it what you will. The influences were many ranging from heavy metal to Herbie Hancock. This month's guest, Elliott Todd, first heard at a Jazz Café Jam, excelled on trumpet and flugel at times bringing to mind those days of yore when Miles dipped his toes into the muddied waters of rock and roll.

Keep an eye out for Elliott at a gig near you.

Tim, needless to say, led by example laying down some strong lines and soloing with much aplomb. Dominic hit the Hammond button and laid down the kind of groove you'd only expect to get from a fully grown B3.

On bass guitar, Martyn gave solid support and Paul Crown is surely one of the most underrated drummers around.

Maybe just another day at the office but, nonetheless, an enjoyable one.
Lance.
PS: Good to see Chris Jelly digging the sounds..

GIJF Day Three:Double Bill - Bill Frisell’s Beautiful Dreams Trio/ Pablo Held Trio. April 6

(Review by Steve H.)

Frisell, dressed in plaid shirt, slacks and sneakers seemed relaxed as he came on stage likewise  the other members of the trio Eivand Kang on Viola and Rudy Royston on drums who were also dressed comfortably   What followed was pure unadulterated joy as the trio performed in a merry go round of styles moving in and out of  folk, country, oriental, rock, classical  and jazz idioms. Guitarist Frisell, shy and retiring, didn’t do much chatting preferring instead to twiddle the various electronic effects he had on stage but with the most magnificent range of sounds emanating from the great man’s Telecaster who could complain? Kang and Royston blended in effortlessly as the trio swirled in and out of the assorted genres described.  The set finished with not one encore but two and the audience were able to leave the perfect Hall 2 happy, joyful and enraptured.

Lindsay Hannon and Guests @ The Cherry Tree April 7

Lindsay Hannon (vcls); James Harrison (p); John Pope (db); Tom Chapman (drs)

(Review by JC).

A recent leg operation meant that the Gateshead Jazz Festival was out of reach but a nice compensation was that a trip to the Cherry Tree just up the road was possible. Lindsay Hannon and the band were in great form, both in seeming to be enjoying themselves and also playing very well. The first song was I Can't Give You Anything But Love and James Harrison quickly showed his intent by launching into a full-blooded solo demonstrating how his playing continues to develop at a fast pace. What is great about Lindsay Hannon and the band is that each of the songs, although mostly standards, has individual touches added to it to give it something extra. Miss Otis Regrets was taken at a slow, soulful tempo full of languid regret, while I Thought about You had a moody double bass and voice intro which the drums and piano then took into double time with Harrison seeming to go into double, double time for his solo. Blues in the Night had a saloon bar feel with touches of barrelhouse piano.