ACV @ The Bridge Hotel 8th October - Take 2

A breath of fresh air blew through the northeast jazz scene last night - sometimes a zephyr of haunting harmonies from a bowed bass and Rhodes piano, then whisked up to a cyclonic spiral of gale force Strat - through The Rat - vying with the tenor 'til at last, together in a screaming high speed gust, they blew the hat off the cat!

Thank God the castle was built on Drummer Rock - no name running through these sticks, just a Biggles scarf strafed by a funky wind. Andy Champion's V-tet, ACV, 1st public offering, and what an offering it was, from 'Quins' Adrian Tillbrook (drums), Paul Edis (keyboards), Graeme Wilson (saxes), Mark Williams (guitars) and the man himself on double bass.

This was high jazz with altitude, aye, altitude! mostly Andy's own compositions, with the exception of Hackensack so beautifully, Monkishly fragmented you could feel the master's presence. Cryptic titles like, 'A Line Made by Walking', 'You add to my Stress', 'Without Bones' didn't disappoint, my personal favourite being what I can only describe, pretentiously, as a 3rd Stream tone poem, 'And You Do' - starting out as a Celtic prayer - bass and keyboards whispering in the misty dawn, asking forgiveness for the pitched battle to come, where Strat axe and tenor sax slice the air, scream blue murder and then, it's all over - the reprised lament takes us from the reddened field to a higher place: The Head of Steam opposite the Central Station to drink to ACV's further triumphs.

Only one word for this performance: 'Magic Darts'!

(For guitar anoraks looking at the photo, to let the Strat cool down, Mark picked up an 81 Gibson 347 for several numbers)

(Photo - thanks to Hilary Gilby)

(Door - thanks to Zoe!) George M.

ACV @ The Bridge Hotel. 8th October - Take 1.

Andy Champion (double bass), Adrian Tilbrook (drums), Paul Edis (electric piano), Mark Williams (guitar) & Graeme Wilson (tenor & baritone saxophones).

Having attended Chad Taylor's workshop earlier in the evening at Gateshead Old Town Hall I had a decision to make - head for Blaydon to hear Dave Cliff & Geoff Simkins or walk across the High Level Bridge to catch the debut performance of Andy Champion's new band ACV.

The short walk and the promise, no, make that the certainty, of a first class pint and the Bridge it was.

A pint of Skinner's Keel Over (all the way from Truro) in hand, I walked into the upstairs room as the opening number from Andy Champion's new band held the attention of a sizeable audience. Almost all of the material was from the pen of Champion (charts were all over the place!).

Readers all, the hand picked musicians got inside the tunes and offered up some superb solos - Williams (move over Frank Gamble) and Wilson were particularly good (aren't they always?). Paul Edis' Bill Evans - like playing was less evident in this context. His playing was more like that of Keith Jarrett from Miles' electric period.

Some parts were written to achieve an electric organ sound - Edis got it just right. Bass and drums, a regular working unit, kept it altogether (Adrian Tilbrook excelling in a dynamic, driving performance). Compositions such as 'Waking the Sleeper', 'Lazy Left Hand' and 'You Add to My Stress' were but three of many written by the evening's 'Main Man', Mr.A.Champion.

Thelonius Monk's 'Hackensack' was also given a great work out. At its conclusion Champion apologised for playing it, suggesting it was more like 'Hackensackrilege'. Hey, it was great stuff - don't apologise. Play it again, Andy!

ACV will be playing again soon at a venue near you. Watch this space.

Russell .

Chad Taylor Drum Clinic @ Gateshead Old Town Hall. 8th October.

Thursday was a learning experience as Jazz North East staged two workshop events on the eve of the annual On the Outside Festival.

Alto saxophonist Rob Brown and cellist Daniel Levin (participants at the weekend festival) led an afternoon session on the art of improvisation.

The evening session featured New Yorker Chad Taylor in an insipring drum clinic. Several keen students of the sticks assembled on stage with Chad to be taken through the rudiments of time, rhythm and meter. His formidable technique could have been off-putting ('How did he do that?') yet he was prepared to strip it down to the basics and patiently answer each question thrown at him. It became clear that the students weren't too well versed in the world of free jazz/ improvisation. This resulted in Taylor disassembling his kit and handing parts of it to his students. The results were, well, 'interesting'!

Chad Taylor can be heard on the very same stage with his musical peers tonight, tomorrow and again on Sunday.

Russell

Geoff Simkins & Dave Cliff @ Blaydon Jazz Club.

Geoff Simkins (alt), Dave Cliff (gtr), Neil Harland (bs), David Carnegie (dms).

When I woke up this morning, as one (hopefully) does, I had no idea I was going to write a poem about a doorman in a jazz club. But I did - see a previous post. When I arrived at Blaydon tonight I had no idea I was to be the doorman in a jazz club that night but I was!

Isn't life just one big coincidence?

However, what isn't a coincidence is that there was some excellent music played in the club tonight - I've come to expect it and have yet to be let down.

Brighton based Geoff Simkins is that rare bird - an alto player who has managed to almost totally evade the Charlie Parker Syndrome. I say almost as there were occasional birdlike flourishes and the unison theme statement between guitar and alto on "Hot House" was pure 52nd St. but, on the whole, he played more in an Art Pepper/Lee Konitz vein which was quite delightful - Roly thought him the most lyrical player to have played Blaydon and, after hearing his solo and final cadenza on "Darn That Dream," he could be right.

Dave Cliff is a nice easy player. Sensitive and laid back his long linear solos at times harked back to Billy Bauer and Lennie Tristrano.

A piece by tenor saxist Ted Brown, "Smog Eyes", did indeed show a strong Tristrano influence and the guitar/alto interplay could have come straight out of one of Lennie's Capital sessions with Konitz and Bauer.

It was a good mix of standards "How Deep is the Ocean", "Body and Soul", "Au Privave", "Gone With The Wind" - "Its You or No One" a real gem.

David Carnegie and Neil Harland were, as ever, the perfect bass and drums with Neil outstanding on a waltz that was new to me - "Some Time Ago". Not many bass players can swing in waltztime but Neil did.

This is about as modern as it gets at Blaydon. Photos from Eddie Jessop. Lance.

Tonight @ Blaydon Looks Good.

It has been a long time - too long is the general consensus - since Dave Cliff and Geoff Simkins have played Blaydon Jazz Club. That long wait comes to an end tonight when guitarist Dave and altoist Geoff return to play a session with David Carnegie on drums and Neil Harland on bass.

North-east born Dave has long been a stalwart of the London scene capable of fitting in with bands of all genré from Alex Welsh to Peter Ind/Warne Marsh/Lee Konitz.

Geoff, reminiscent at times of early Art Pepper, can be both lyrical or fiery as the piece demands. In the company of local heroes Neil and David it promises to be another night to remember at Blaydon.

Lance.

It's National Poetry Day (or so the media tell me.)

I discovered via the TV that today is national poetry day so, rather than paint the fence, I whistled up this in the hope our other jazz poets may follow suit. The Doorman. Let’s hear it for the doorman, The most thankless task of all. He has to sit and take the money Whilst the others have a ball. On the stand they’re blowing Giant Steps Or a few of his favourite things But all he hears are moans and groans ‘bout the cost of getting in. Can you change a twenty? Do you do Amex? They’re playing That’s a Plenty Will you take a check? He’s dying of thirst He wants a beer But the customer comes first It’s like Sahara sitting out here. But if he wasn't there The guys wouldn’t get paid Go home without money? No chance of getting laid. So let’s hear it for the doorman As important as the drummer He’s the band's real front line Without him (her) the gig is a bummer. Lance.

Quality Night @ The Chilli - and you missed it - na na na na na!

Dave Weisser (tpt/vcl), Harley Johnson (pno), Barrie Ascroft (bs), Eric Stutt (dms) + Solly Bashiri (dms).

In the absence of a bass player, Barrie went on to bass and Harley occupied the piano chair with Eric on drums. To my ears this was just about the perfect Chilli rhythm section. It swung like anything with Harley on top of his game and discarding his Monkish image as if to say - 'This is me!'

Barrie was as sound on bass as he is on piano and Eric held it all together perfectly.

Dave as the lone horn eased his chops with extra vocals - "What's New?", "I Didn't Know What Time it Was", "Angel Eyes", "Easy Living" as well as instrumentals such as "Blue Bossa", "Blues For Duane", "Sunflower"... It was a good night that deserved more support. Dave should have sang "Where Are You?"

There are times when the fickle fans make me, and the band, despair. They couldn't even use the excuse of a football match tonight.

Still, in years to come, when Harley is centre stage at 'Ronnie's' we'll have the satisfaction have having been 'in on the ground floor' even if tonight's gig at the Chilli was upstairs (I may have used that analogy before but what the hell?)

Next week it's the Alan Glen Trio so c'mon folks ...

Lance.

THE NORTH EAST’S FIRST LADY OF JAZZ IS BACK WITH HER SECOND ALBUM

A leading light on the north east jazz scene for the past seven years, anyone who’s ever experienced Ruth Lambert live knows she gives a captivating performance whether singing with the South Shields CustomsHouse Big Band or fronting a more intimate trio. Blessed with a unique voice and an instinctive feel for jazz, Ruth’s extraordinary vocal flair and technical skill come into their own through her charismatic delivery and fresh interpretation of the classics, which has seen her build up a reputation among her contemporaries as ‘the musician’s singer.’ And this month is the ideal time to see Ruth live, as she gives a sneak preview of her highly-anticipated second album Easy Street ahead of its national launch later in the year. Ruth will be performing a one-off exclusive gig at the Saville Exchange in North Shields with her sextet, which features local jazz luminaries including Paul Edis on piano, Mark Williams on guitar, Andy Champion on double bass, Tim Johnston on drums, Graeme Wilson on saxophone and Graham Hardy on trumpet. Picking up where her 2006 debut "So Many Stars" left off, "Easy Street" continues Ruth’s love affair with jazz and features songs from the Great American Songbook as well as self-penned tunes. Released on the Jazz Action label at the end of October, the album features arrangements by the internationally acclaimed composer John Warren. Tickets for the album launch on October 23 cost £6/£5 and are available from the Saville Exchange on 0191 643 7093. Copies of "Easy Street" will be available on the night but, if you can’t make it, visit ruthlambert.co.uk or her MySpace site to listen to samples and order your copy. About Ruth: A professional singer since the age of 18, Ruth studied music at theUniversity of Strathclyde where she received a First Class Honoursdegree, picking up the prestigious Alexander Stone Scholarship for Excellence in Solo Performance along the way. She was vocalist with the University Big Band, whose alumni include some of the UK’s biggest jazznames. Returning to the north east Ruth began carving out a niche for herself as one of the region’s most sought after and accomplished jazz singers, performing at prestigious venues including The Sage Gateshead, South Shields Customs House, Durham’s Gala Millenium Theatre, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and a number of international jazz festivals across the UK, including Glasgow, Gateshead and the Isle of Bute. Ruth is also in demand as a vocal tutor and is the voice coach on the Bachelor of Music degree course at Newcastle College. She cites her main influences as Julie London, Anita O’Day, Carmen McRae and Chet Baker. For media enquiries contact Anna Richardson on 07727 139 078 or anna-richardson@tiscali.co.uk

Maine Street Jazzmen @ The Lambton Arms, Eighton Banks.

Olive Rudd (vcl), Iain McCaulley (tmb/vcl), Jimmy McBriarty (clt/vcl), Malcolm Armstromg (pno). Alan Rudd (bs), Mike Green(dms).

This was quite a landmark occasion for me. Lydia, a friend from New Jersey, was in town so naturally we arranged to meet up and where better place to meet up on a Wednesday lunchtime on the south side of the river than the Lambton Arms at Eighton Banks.

It is here that those monarchs of midday music the Maine Street Jazzmen purvey their wares.

Knowing Lydia's dewy-eyed sentiments re "My Very Good Friend The Milkman" I requested the band to play it which they duly did and the dew duly formed.

My guest and her friend Maureen enjoyed the afternoon which was helped along by Maureen winning a prize in the raffle. The splendid sandwiches were worth the wait and the band were on good form in front of an appreciative audience.

Apart from "Milkman", Olive also excelled on "Fine and Dandy" which was just fine and dandy.

Lance.

More Jam on Sundays - Kentish Flavour

Will and Liz Smith, with whom Eric and I became acquainted at Scarborough have posted a sample of Sunday morning jam from Rochester's Eagle Tavern in Kent. It looks very tasty too. Long time since I've been to Rochester maybe one of these days ...

Lance.