Best Wishes to Dave Weisser.

Sad to report that the iconic modern jazz cornetist/vocalist Dave Weisser has been hospitalised after a fall. Dave and Jude were in a Durham bookstore where Dave missed his footing causing some quadricep damage. His leg is in plaster. 

Dave, whose Take it to the Bridge workshops are now part of northeast jazz-lore, has long been an inspirational figure for aspiring jazz musicians, encouraging everyone who takes part in his long-running Wednesday night sessions currently held at the Globe, Newcastle. Many of the region's big-hitters dipped their toes in the water there or at previous venues such as the Chilli on Chilli Rd. He is a legend and always will be.

Sincere best wishes and may he recover from this latest setback asap.

Lance.

Preview: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe - April 11

David Edgar, Barry Keatings, Miriam McCormick, Jenny Lingham, Jen Errington, Carrie McCullock (individual vocals); Alan Law (piano); Andy Champion (bass); Rob Walker (drums)

Yes folks, it’s the 2-monthly showcase for these fine vocalists, and this time they’re accompanied by three of the region’s most talented instrumentalists on piano, bass and drums. Get yourselves along to the Globe this coming Thursday at 7.30pm to hear songs such as April In Paris; Moondance; Ain’t Misbehavin; All Of Me. If you’re there you’ll have No More Blues, or rather you will, because that’s also one of the songs to be sung. It’s £5 admission, well worth the price. See you there!

Ann Alex

Bill Laurance @ Sage Gateshead - April 6

(Review by Chris Kilsby)

A packed Sage 2 (including Level 2) for the fifth appearance at Sage Gateshead of the now well established "jazz maestro" pianist Bill Laurance.  This time solo, with one of Sage's Steinways augmented by various boxes of tricks to reproduce live the multi-effects on his new solo album Cables.  I had seen him twice before at the Sage, but with excellent bands, including colleagues from Snarky Puppy, the international jazz/funk collective phenomenon he co-founded.  I approached this gig with interest, to see if he could match the levels of composition and playing of those superb outings on his own. 

Springtime Early Birds @ The Lit & Phil - Apr 6

(Review by Russell)  

Today's Early Bird workshop took the form of a last minute rehearsal session ahead of a concert performance here at the Lit and Phil on Friday evening (April 6). Five young musicians assembled in-the-round to work on a few things guided, as always, by Paul Edis. 

Theo Wride, Sage Gateshead's Jazz Attack bass player, sitting opposite a whispering Lucien Guest, slotted-in nicely. Our Early Bird trumpeter spoke in hushed tones having lost his voice but this didn't in any way diminish his instrumental contribution alongside fellow horn player Haaruun Miller. 

Bad luck brings new jazz opportunities

(Press release)

Unfortunately, two of the bands we had lined up in the next two weeks have had to cancel or postpone their performances due to illness and accident. It is bad luck but it has given us the opportunity to bring new jazz to the Globe to fill the gaps. 

On Sunday 14 April Sudden Jazz Quintet will be playing instead of Big Muddy. The quintet was very well received when it performed in a similar situation earlier this year.

On Thursday 18 April the JR Trio will be standing in for the Francis Tulip Quintet. These guys are some of the best young jazz musicians from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

We rely on people coming to gigs and buying drinks to keep Jazz.Coop running, so we would really appreciate your attendance at these replacement gigs.

CD Review: Giovanni Guidi – Avec Le Temps

Giovanni Guidi (piano); Francesco Bearzatti (tenor sax); Roberto Cecchetto (guitar); Thomas Morgan (double bass); João Lobo  (drums). 

(Review by Chris)

The third ECM release in March from the southern shores of Europe, recorded immaculately in southern France at the same studio as Dominic Miller’s Absinthe.  Guidi is a highly regarded pianist on the Italian scene, notably playing extensively with Enrico Rava, as well as the late great trumpeter, Tomasz Stanko.

This is high-class modern chamber jazz, with a distinctive cool feel. The slow, limpid piano lines are embellished with ultra-artful bass and drums (complete with high pitched scraping), augmented in the middle tracks by tenor and guitar.

Alan Glen @ the Globe Jazz Bar - April 4

Alan Glen (piano); Paul Grainger (bass); P.S. Wight-White (drums).

(Review by Lance).

Close your eyes and you're in a smoke-filled dive in New York, Soho or a bar in Newcastle back in the 1950's/1960's. You're listening to Bud Powell, Eddie Thompson or maybe even a very young Alan Glen. You come back to the present. Apart from the iconic photo of Dexter Gordon on the Jazz Bar wall, the smoke has vanished but Alan Glen hasn't.

Like vintage wine and seasoned timber, the playing is tasty and solid. He may not be seeking new frontiers, they were discovered many (how high the) moons ago, he and the audience are happy with what he's got which is the undiminished powers of invention.

CD Review: Scott Robinson - Tenormore

Scott Robinson (tenor sax); Helen Sung (piano/B3); Dennis Mackrell (bass/bass guitar); Martin Wind (drums) + Sharon Robinson (flute on 1 tk.).

(Review by Lance).

A fine tenor sax outing for a musician who's at home on any of Adolphe Sax's inventions.

Opening up with an unaccompanied take on Lennon and McCartney's And I Love Her he removes all sentiment from the song treating it as one long cadenza beginning somewhere up in the sopranino range.

His own composition, Tenor Eleven, is a more conventional hard bop blower which displays just how awesome his technique is. There's also space for Helen Sung who knocked everyone for six when she appeared in the UK last year with the Mingus Big Band. Ms. Sung does even better here with the extra space allotted. Robinson himself commented in the album notes: "To me, she's kind of the star of the album. She plays so beautifully on everything; there's a lot to like."

CD Review: Ushaw Ensemble - Ushaw Ensemble Volume 1

Paul Edis (composer, piano, musical director); Graeme Wilson (tenor sax, bass clarinet, flute); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Andy May (Northumbrian pipes); Rob Walker (drums, percussion); Paul Susans (double bass); Emma Fisk (violin)

(Review by Russell)

Ushaw Ensemble Volume 1 is the latest chapter in the evolving story of a commissioned suite of music which met with universal critical acclaim following performances at festivals and jazz club engagements. Composer Paul Edis assembled a septet comprising notable figures on the national jazz stage alongside respected Northumbrian piper Andy May to interpret his music celebrating the life and story of St Cuthbert. The CD serves as a document of the story so far..

CD Review: The David Berkman Sextet (plus guests) - Six of One

Dayna Stephens (tenor sax/EWI); Adam Kolker (soprano sax/bass clarinet); Billy Drewes (alto sax/ clarinet); David Berkman (piano); Chris Lightcap (bass); Kenneth Salters (drums) + Rogerio Boccato (perc #2) Tim Armacost (tenor sax on #1 #5 #7),

(Review by Dave Brownlow).

Pianist/composer/arranger/bandleader David Berkman is a well-known recording artist on the New York scene as a leader, a sideman for many big names (Sonny Stitt, Tom Farrell, Cecil McBee) and as a teacher at Universities and Jazz Camps in the U.S, South America, Asia and Europe. Here, he performs 10 tracks with his regular sextet (plus guests) in a programme of original music having a wide spectrum of influences. The band has worked together for many years and Berkman, like Duke Ellington before, likes to write for his ensemble with individual players in mind.