Album review: James Brandon Lewis Red Lily Quintet - For Mahalia, With Love

James Brandon Lewis (tenor sax) + : 

Disc One: Kirk Knuffke (cornet); Chris Hoffman (cello); William Parker (bass); Chad Taylor (drums, tambourine).

Disc Two: Roksana Kwasnikowska (first violin); Marcin Markowics (second violin); Artur Rozmyslowics (viola); Maciej Mlodawski (cello).

Perhaps surprisingly, for such a long-standing and prodigious soulboy as myself, I’ve had almost no interest in gospel music beyond a few select artists near to the soul music mainstream: Staple Singers, Mighty Clouds of Joy, Rance Allen, Sounds of Blackness and not many more.

I’ve always attributed this to me being an atheist, though I’ve always considered words in music along the lines of acting, and only notice it when it’s either very good or very poor.

Album review: Wolff, Clark, Dorsey - A Letter to Bill Evans

Michael Wolff (piano); Leon Lee Dorsey (bass); Mike Clark (drums)

The question facing the three musicians is do we slavishly copy the originals or do we seek to improve the unimprovable by approaching it from a different direction? Wisely, Wolff, Dorsey and Clark choose the latter option even though to do so requires skills on a par with the original masters and, by and large, they succeed.

Mark Williams Trio @ the Central Bar, Gateshead - June 2

© Pam

Mark Williams (guitar); Paul Susans (bass guitar); Rob Walker (drums)

A lovely June day, maybe some decided to opt for the garden and get a BBQ going but the more discerning went for a wiser option, spend Sunday afternoon at the Central Bar for an immersive experience with the Mark Williams Trio!  

© Pam

The guys hit the ground running with an amazing performance of Recovery Blues - totally mesmerising. Weird Country with no explanation of which weird place he was referring to but there are plenty to choose from. The first set concluded with No More an anagram of Moreno (Mike) apparently our man had been listening to the New York guitarist. Mark's compositions however, are absolutely his own.  

The New Century Syncopated Six @ the Prohibition Bar, Newcastle - June 2

© Russell

Jim McBriarty (alto/soprano sax, clarinet, vocals); Gavin Lee (tenor sax, clarinet); Dave Hignett (trumpet, cornet); Keith Stephen (banjo); Phil Rutherford (tuba); Nick Ward (drums)

A step back in time at the appropriately named Prohibition Bar. The New Century Syncopated Six, an off shoot of the New Century Ragtime Orchestra, played a couple of sets that typified the era of bathtub booze - fortunately the attempt at authenticity didn't stretch that far!

I think the most modern number played last night was composed around 1929 although most were from a year or two earlier. Some familiar and some completely unknown. Still, good music is timeless and if it was good enough for Al Capone who would dare to complain?

Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington - June 1

Edison Herbert (guitar); Emlyn Vaughan (bass guitar); Miles Pillinger (drums)

An 'away day' in Darlington. Lunchtime at St Augustine's listening to Rico Tomasso's Swing Company followed by a pint of Old Peculier in Number Twenty 2 (the musicians' post-gig hang) and onto an early evening gig at the Vault on East Row. Edison Herbert was making a popular return visit to the Market Place venue and several fans made the effort to get along, although they were well aware it wouldn't be a listening crowd...

Enrico Tomasso's Swing Company @ Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club - June 1

Enrico Tomasso (trumpet, cornet, vocals); Trevor Whiting (alto sax, soprano sax, clarinet); Spats Langham (guitar, banjo, vocals); Malcolm Sked (double bass); Nick Ward (drums); Cia Tomasso (vocals) 

When Rico Tomasso is in town you know it's going to be a good one. St Augustine's Parish Centre attracted a large crowd there to listen to Rico's Swing Company featuring rising star vocalist Cia Tomasso. Most of those present had yet to hear Cia sing. Little did they know they were in for a treat.

The horns - Rico (trumpet and cornet) and Trevor Whiting (alto sax, soprano sax and clarinet) - took the lion's share of the solos with some nifty guitar playing from their bandmate, the one-and-only Tom 'Spats' Langham. Material from the swing era formed the bulk of the set list and Rico's Swing Company most certainly did swing. The boys in the engine room - string bassist Malcolm Sked and period percussionist extraordinaire Nick Ward - really did swing it.

The Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Gala Theatre, Durham - April 26

© Malcolm Sinclair

(This review was drafted in April, but due to illness the reviewer was unable to complete it until now)

Graham Hardy (trumpet); Ben Lawrence (keys); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).

With the greening of spring evident and a surprisingly blue sky across the valley on the last Friday in April another capacity Gala audience were treated to a stunning debut by a new band on the north east scene (or rather a new line-up of mainly familiar faces). Clearly all the musicians knew each other’s playing well, having played together over the past year in both Mondo Trumpet and the Sue Ferris Quintet. And it was a welcome return to the Gala of one of the region’s rising stars, former Gala Big Band pianist Ben Lawrence.

Album review: Jack Walrath - Live at Smalls (Cellar Music)

Jack Walrath (trumpet); Abraham Burton (tenor sax); George Burton (piano); Boris Kozlov (bass); Donald Edwards (drums)

I sighed, I cried, I almost died at the thought of yet another hard-bop trumpet, tenor, piano, bass and drums combo shooting for the moon. Let's face it, Blakey, Silver and a whole lot of the Blue Note boys had worked this side of the street since time knows when and, as a counter-attraction, there were a couple of foreign teams kicking a ball around at Wembley and, hadn't I heard Walrath in a JNE concert at the Corner House back in 1986?

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

Playlist 02/06/24 (repeated Tuesday 04/06/24)

Memories: Benny Goodman.

Requests: Jeff Barnhart, Spats Langham.

Further Memories: Eugene Wright, Christian McBride Trio, Johnny Hodges, Louis Hayes, Kenny Washington, Kenny G.

Requests: Phil Harris, Bruce Reitherman.

Frankie Trumbauer & His Orchestra, Anouar Brahem.

https://www.ayclifferadio.co.uk/listen

Aycliffe Radio is now available on DAB in County Durham & the Darlington area.

The Fenner Sisters and the Tees Valley Jazzmen liberate Newgate Shopping Centre

With the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings coming up I thought it would be an appropriate time to upload this vintage YouTube clip of the Fenner Sisters and the Tees Valley Jazzmen 'doing their bit'. Lance