Rico and Luca and Humpty Dumpty - July 3

Enrico Tomasso (trumpet/vocal); Luca Filastro (piano).

Nobody told Luca that tomorrow is "Dress up Saturday" or maybe Italians dress like that anyway. Maybe some do but few, if any, play piano like he does! Yes this was one of those marriages made in heaven - musically speaking - the pair of them gelled.

Four excellent numbers and a couple of bottles of Humpty Dumpty (Good Egg and Bad Egg) which Rico waxed lyrical over, worked more miracles than a spoonful of sugar ever did in helping the medicine go down!

Nick Gould and Friends: Livestream - July 3

Nick Gould (tenor sax); David Midas (guitar); Ray Leonard (bass guitar); Kevin Dorrian (drums).

A wee gem from Edinburgh with Nick Gould and his trusty henchmen blowing away the cobwebs* in the hallway of  Nick's pad. I'm not sure if this is classed as a JazzMain or a Nick Gould Quartet livestream. In the end, I opted for  ... and Friends.

Five tunes delivered on time. Misty not the dreamy ballad version but a jaunty shuffle - maybe a quickstep tempo - take your partners please.

Weardale jazz venue falls victim to Covid-19

Yesterday's Northern Echo reported the permanent closure of the Black Bull in Frosterley, Weardale. The north of England regional newspaper quotes a post on the pub's Facebook: Please be aware that this decision was not an easy one and not taken lightly. 

Paul Edis: Live stream #16 - July 3

Paul Edis (piano, vocals)

Lockdown Britain is a weird place where days merge into one another and weekdays feel like weekends. Ah, it's Friday! One o'clock, YouTube, meaning it's time for the sixteenth consecutive Friday of solo piano with occasional vocals for good measure by Paul Edis. 

Richard Rodgers figured large this week - Thou Swell and I Could Write a Book with lyrics by Lorenz Hart and You'll Never Walk Alone, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein III - as a composer of popular song for the stage. Connecticut Yankee, Pal Joey and Carousel the vehicles, if Rodgers had a business head on him he no doubt laughed all the way to the bank!

Hexham Thursday Sessions #12 : Summertime

A funny thing happened on the way to the men's room ...

BSH's County Durham correspondent Tony Eales filed the following tale which he assures me is true ... 

As a big band aficionado TE thinks nothing of hopping on a plane to travel halfway across the globe to hear some of the great big band outfits. A few short years ago on a trip to Los Angeles to attend a big band festival our man was in a hotel lobby minding his own business when he was approached by an elderly gentleman who asked directions to the men's room. Our globetrotting friend pointed this way and that, up a staircase, along a corridor. Our elderly gentleman expressed thanks and wandered off ...

A while later our big band aficionado's new-found friend returned. He hadn't been able to find the men's room. Ever eager to be of assistance TE offered to take his new-found friend to the men's room. Off they went ...

Album review: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers - Just Coolin'

Lee Morgan (trumpet); Hank Mobley (tenor sax); Bobby Timmons (piano); Jymie Merritt (bass); Art Blakey (drums).

Even 61 years on, The Jazz Messengers never fail to excite. These 6 tracks have lain in the Blue Note vaults since March 8, 1959. The reason for what some might consider a hanging offence is that Alfred Lion recorded the band live at Birdland a month later and, as these numbers were also duplicated on the live session, he opted to release the live recording (Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers: Meet You at the Jazz Corner of  The World vols 1 & 2) instead.

Album review: Jamess Copus - Dusk

James Copus (trumpet/flugel/voice); Tom Cawley (piano/synth); Conor Chaplin (bass); Jason Brown (drums).

Looking back through the archives of BSH I find that I first heard Copus in the NYJO trumpet section in 2012 at the Scarborough Jazz Festival. I must confess, no lasting impression was made back then. Well it was a vintage year for the band and just some of the stars to emerge were Louis Dowdeswell, Tom Dennis, Tom Green, Rob Luft and Conor Chaplin who is also on this album.

However, subsequent hearings since have left me in no doubt as to his capabilities. In one review I referred to him as a more exciting trumpet player than Miles. Strong words, I know, but I stand by them and listening to this latest recording only serves to reinforce my opinion.

When will it all end?

Tony Dudley-Evans, on LondonJazz News, has posted at length on the future of live music. It isn't a rosy picture. We all know that many venues (and businesses) may never open again and it seems unlikely that government will have music in general, let alone jazz, among its top priorities.

However, Tony does make some valid and constructive observations including various subscription schemes employed elsewhere. Cooperative units such as Newcastle's Jazz Coop who are keeping the flag flying in the northeast with a series of livestreams is another option.

To read the complete article follow this link.

Lance

Album review: John Fedchock NY Sextet - Into the Shadows

John Fedchock (trombone); Scott Wendholt (trumpet/flugel); Walt Weiskopf (tenor sax); Allen Farnham (piano); David Finck (bass); Eric Halvorson (drums).

"Straight from the shoulder, unpretentious jazz" is how Jazz Journal described the Fedchock NY Sextet and I won't argue with that.  Nor will I disagree with the Boston Post Gazette's description as "A lineup of dazzling New York post-bop talent" for this is everything it says on the tin, maybe a bit more. 

Standards and originals arranged and composed by the trombonist/leader provide the setting for this, his tenth album.