CD Review: Marton Juhasz - Discovery

Marton Juhasz (composition, drums); Yumi Ito (vocals, text (track 8); Sergio Wagner (trumpet, flugelhorn); Paco Andreo (valve trombone); Enrique Oliver (tenor sax); Syzmon Mika (guitar); Olga Konkova (piano, Fender Rhodes); Danny Ziemann (bass)

(Review by Ann Alex)

This review marks my promotion on BSH, to reviewing a mainly instrumental CD, rather than a singer's CD. Then I read the written information, which tells me that a certain Lance Liddle heard this drummer at a gig, and stated that he had a 'prodigious technique'. I'm not sure if that helps or hinders, but I'll judge for myself anyway, thank you! 

Judge I did, and I loved what I heard. There are 11 tracks of original music, composed by the drummer, played adventurously and well by all, with the drummer fitting in seamlessly with the others, which to my mind shows us a musician who knows that the actual music comes first.

Preview: Kamasi Washington @ Sage Gateshead, Tuesday 21 May

(Preview by Russell)

The Epic said it all - ambitious, sprawling, three discs (yes, it was made available on vinyl), Los Angeles born bandleader, saxophonist, collaborator, producer, Kamasi Washington's high-profile recording secured media attention beyond that of the regular jazz press. 

On Tuesday the 38-year-old American rocks up at Sage Gateshead. Touring the UK, Europe then back to the States, this is the long-awaited opportunity for Tynesiders to check-out the man who has acquired a cult following - not least among the Millennial generation - thanks to his association with Flying Lotus, Thundercat and Kendrick Lamar. 

Preview: Philip Clouts Quartet @ The Globe Sunday, May 19

Philip Clouts, piano; Samuel Eagles, saxes; Tim Fairhall, bass; Kiran Bhatt, drums

(Press release)

Cape Town-born pianist/composer Clouts’ South African roots have inspired a voyage of discovery that has led to him soaking up the joyful passion of Caribbean calypso, the bluesy melodies of middle eastern praise songs, the exuberant sway of Cuban dance music and the tuneful essence of Gospel while honouring jazz heroes including Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, and Charles Lloyd. 

Preview: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Blaydon Jazz Club Sunday May 19

(Preview by Russell/archive photo))

On Sunday evening at the Black Bull, there is an all too rare appearance by one of the region's finest saxophonists and flautists. County Durham resident Sue Ferris is well known to jazz fans across the north of England and beyond as a versatile musician equally proficient in a small group setting or full-scale orchestral project. 

BSH readers familiar with the much missed Voice of the North Jazz Orchestra will recall Sue's blistering baritone sax solos in a band of stellar soloists, similarly the diminutive saxophonist invariably blows the proverbial roof off blowing baritone in Gerry Richardson's roaring Big Idea.

CD Review: Alex Hitchcock Quintet - All Good things

Alex Hitchcock (tenor sax); James Copus (trumpet/flugelhorn); Will Barry (piano/Fender Rhodes); Joe Downard (bass); Jay Davis (drums).

Review by Lance)

Hitchcock is no stranger to these pages, he has turned up in various guises at Hoochie Coochie (w. Resolution 88), Jazz Café, various CDs and an excellent EP with this band.

In fact, Hitchcock's latest album is a logistical step forward taking the band and the idiom into an area that punches the frontiers blazed by Blue Note, Miles and Coltrane whilst still retaining sanity and, dare I say it? that much-maligned word in avant-gardist circles - musicality.

Classic Swing @ Jesmond British Legion - May 17

Olive Rudd (vocals); Tommy Moran (tenor sax); Jim McBriarty (alto sax, soprano sax, clarinet, vocals); Neville Hartley (trombone, vocals); Colin Haikney (keyboards); Alan Rudd (double bass); Tommy Graham (drums) 

(Review by Russell)

Oh Lady be Good! for starters - casual swing with Jim McBriarty's vocals mirroring those of Fred Astaire and that's how the session continued, softly swinging, Basie-style. J M opened on alto sax and played more of it on Blue and Sentimental with 'bone man Neville Hartley and pianist Colin Haikney chipping-in.  

Olive Rudd got to her feet to sing It's a Sin to Tell a Lie accompanied by Tommy Moran's assured tenor saxophone playing. The band's singer would return.  

CD Review: Yoko Miwa Trio - Keep Talkin'

Yoko Miwa (piano); Will Slater (bass); Scott Goulding (drums); Brad Barrett (bass on 1 track).

(Review by Lance)

You know the feeling, you've got no money coming in and the bills are arriving on a conveyer belt and you wonder HTF am I going to pay them? The solution is, of course, to rob Peter to pay Paul and, ultimately, vice versa.

Recitals @ Newcastle University: Alex Utting (trombone); Ben Fitzgerald (drums) - May 15,16

(Reviewed by Russell)

It's the time of year when some music students are obliged to get out of bed before Emmerdale starts...yes, those long-awaited recitals are taking place throughout the month of May and here at Newcastle University students are preparing for the ordeal of their lives. BSH attended two recitals - one yesterday (Wednesday) and one this morning. 

At 5:20pm yesterday with the sun streaming through the windows of King's Hall trombonist Alex Utting walked the long walk from an adjacent corridor to the floor of King's Hall. The audience greeted the examinee with encouraging applause as the examiners took their seats in front of fired-up laptops. Utting is known to BSH as the bass trombone man in the dynamic student Bold Big Band. Utting's recital - Minor Specialist Study in Performance Final Recital - didn't include any jazz, this was to be a heavyweight classical examination.

Keswick Jazz & Blues Festival: Reflections...

(Review by Russell)

The 2019 Keswick Jazz and Blues Festival drew large numbers with several events standing-room-only affairs at venues across the market town. The weather began in typically Lakeland fashion (overcast with the threat of rain) and ended in atypical fashion - two blue sky days with wall-to-wall sunshine. 

Concerts from noon 'til late, venues (club, function room, church) all within easy walking distance, food, drink, Main Street jazz sessions, the annual brolly parade and, of course, all of this to a glorious Lakeland backdrop. 

Keswick Jazz & Blues Festival: George Melly - The Certainty of Hazard - May 12

The Certainty of Hazard was premiered more than a decade after George Melly's death in July 2007. Here at the 2019 Keswick Jazz and Blues Festival a Sunday afternoon screening in Rawnsley Hall attracted a good number of Melly fans. Director Chris Wade's 2018 documentary film focuses on two principal talking heads - Melly's widow Diana Melly and former girlfriend Louisa Buck - offering personal insights to the jazz singer, critic, writer and lifetime surrealist.