Album review: Yazz Ahmed - A Paradise in the Hold

Yazz Ahmed (trumpet, flugelhorn, handclaps, programming & ululations); George Crowley (bass clarinet & handclaps); Ralph Wyld (vibraphone, marimba, handclaps); Naadia Sheriff (Fender Rhodes, piano, Roland JX-03, handclaps); Dudley Phillips (bass, handclaps); Martin France (drums, handclaps); Corrina Silvester ( percussion & handclaps); Alcyona Mick (Fender Rhodes); Samuel Hällkvist (guitars); Dave Manington (bass); Natacha Atlas (voice); Brigitte Beraha (voice) & handclaps; Randolph Matthews (voice); Alba Nacinovich (voice); Jason Singh (voice & additional programming); Samy Bishai (violin); Noel Langley (flugelhorn, handclaps & additional programming); Engineer Family (chatter & ululations).

This is another marvellous example of ‘melting-pot’ jazz and shows again the vibrancy of the UK scene. Like many others, stretching back to Joe Harriott and John Mayer’s Indo-Jazz Fusions, it turns away from the American tradition and brings in influences from the rest of the world, usually those areas that were coloured pink in the old atlases. In this case Ahmed has reached out to her Bahraini roots and bought them in a seamless melding with outstanding performances from some of the best players available on the British scene. It is dense, bold, compelling, mesmerising music.

Newcastle Jazz Festival 2025 Announces New Date and Exciting Lineup

The highly anticipated Newcastle Jazz Festival 2025 returns with a fresh new date – Saturday, 20th September 2025 – bringing an electrifying day of live jazz to the Live Theatre, Broad Chare (NE1 3DQ).

This year’s festival promises a thrilling lineup of top local and national jazz talent, delivering an unforgettable experience for music lovers. With a mix of established artists and rising stars, the festival showcases a dynamic blend of contemporary, bebop, post-bop, and genre-pushing jazz.

Lineup & Sessions

Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ the Prohibition Bar, Newcastle - April 3

Eva Fox (vocals); Steve Glendinning (guitar); Paul Grainger (bass)

A couple of instrumentals to start with - My Foolish Heart and Billie's Bounce - Steve getting a good sound from his nylon strung electro acoustic with Paul his usual reliable self in support.

Eva took to the stage for Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man, Embraceable You, When Sunny Gets Blue, Tenderly & Dance me to the End of Love. All were okay although I think it is only fair to say that, this being a new set of Jazz Guys, it is still a work in progress and it will be interesting to see where this promising start leads to. Lance

Joe Webb Trio @ Ronnie Scott's - March 20

Joe Webb (piano); Will Sach (double bass); Sam Jesson (drums)

Not having been in London for quite a while the opportunity to stay in a flat near Covent Garden for a few days was too good to miss - a dozen theatres within strolling distance and just 10 minutes to Soho.

So first things first: what was on at the theatre? Mark Strong and Lesley Mandeville in Oedipus sounded promising. A quick look at the web site revealed that anything resembling good seats were 200 quid each - What? Are they covered in gold leaf and upholstered in the finest Arabian silks? I can tell you now the answer to that is 'no'.

The play itself? Great acting but I think next time I'll keep my £400 and pluck my own eyes out.

Album review: Ronan Guilfoyle's Bemusement Arcade - At Swing, Two Birds (Livia Records)

Ronan Guilfoyle (bass, compositions); Sam Norris (alto sax); Chris Guilfoyle (guitar); Darren Beckett (drums)

Another fine release from Ireland's Livia Records, this time featuring a superb quartet led by bassist, composer and international educator (Berklee, the Royal Academy and UNESCO in Copenhagen to name but a few) Ronan Guilfoyle. With his son Chris on guitar, London based Sam Norris on alto and Madeleine Peyroux's drummer of nine years, Darren Beckett, Ronon Guilfoyle's Bemusement Arcade is very much a band to be reckoned with.

APPG for Jazz Issues Green Paper

The All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Group, chaired by local Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah, have issued their ‘Review of Jazz in England’ which gives an overview of Jazz in the Country, how well it is functioning, who is well or poorly served and the important subject of money. Described as “an Honest Portrait and an Actionable Roadmap” it includes a vision of where we want to be in 10 years’ time and suggestions for how to get there. The main body of the report is quite short so I’ve just copied it over in its entirety into this article, omitting the forewords and the appendices. The full report (78 pages, but well worth reading) can be accessed HERE. Dave Sayer

Preview: Helena Summerfield @ Stockport on Sunday (April 6)

This week’s Stockport Jazz gig at the Moor Club features alto saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist Helena Summerfield with Paul Hartley (guitar), John Sandham (bass) and Eryl Roberts (drums).

Helena works for Jazz North, the jazz talent development agency for the north of England. After graduating from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Helena taught music in a variety of mainstream and inclusive education settings. She was the lead jazz tutor at Trafford Music Service when they received the 2021 ‘Will Michael Jazz Education Award’ and became 'Jazz Educator of the Year' at the 2022 Parliamentary Jazz Awards in recognition of her work on Jazz North’s ‘Jazz Camp for Girls’. 

MIKE DURHAM’S INTERNATIONAL CLASSIC JAZZ PARTY - YOUNG TALENT AWARD 2025

At the heart of Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party is the ‘classic jazz’ era spanning the first three decades of the twentieth century. Held annually at the Village Hotel, near Newcastle upon Tyne in the north east of England, the 2025 edition is set to take place over three days, from Friday 31 October to Sunday 2 November.    

The Classic Jazz Party’s Young Talent Award recognises emerging musicians performing jazz from the first three decades of the twentieth century. Established in memory of the late Mike Durham (founder of the Classic Jazz Party), the award seeks to inspire the next generation of musicians to play classic jazz.

Gone Garner (from Hexham)

Closeup in Swing (Philips BBL 7519)

Erroll Garner (piano); Eddie Calhoun (bass); Kelly Martin (drums). July/August 1961.

On my recent visit to Hexham, as mentioned in previous posts, I returned home with enough vinyl to cover my living room floor although naturally If I was going to use it for that purpose I'd have bought some of Jim Reeves' records rather than these two albums by Erroll Garner.

Although that plodding four beat left hand of his can be irritating at times his right hand flights of fancy invariably make up for it. I recall being 'wowed' by Garner at Newcastle City Hall back in the 1960s then seeing Jacques Loussier the following night at the same venue and not even taking an eight count "know wot I mean 'arry?"

That night (the Garner concert) to me was up there with his classic Concert by the Sea recording.

Preview: The 2025 Classic Jazz Party (31 Oct-2 Nov)

Seven months from now this year's Classic Jazz Party will be underway at the Village Hotel on North Tyneside. Musicians fly in from all over the world, the audience arrives from all four corners of the globe and it all happens but a stone's throw from the small village of West Allotment (as the crow flies a couple of miles from Whitley Bay). Amazingly, already more than 70% of the tickets have been snapped up.        

Mike Durham's International Classic Jazz Party, to give the annual gathering its full title, runs for three full days from Friday 31 October to Sunday 2 November. For the aficionado and casual jazz fan alike, the festival programme embraces anything and everything from the dawning of the ragtime era through to the dangerously modern Duke Ellington of the 1930s.