Vintage Explosion @ The Cluny, Newcastle - March 15

© Russell

William Hitchell (vocals, guitar); Duncan Kennedy (guitar); ? (piano); ? (tenor sax); Barry Steele (baritone sax); Richard Anderson (double bass); Douglas Macfarlane (drums) 

Anything Scott Bradlee (Postmodern Jukebox) can do (two billion views on YouTube), William Hitchell can do too. Bradley uploaded music videos in his Astoria, NYC apartment and global fame followed. Glaswegian Hitchell posted a video and went to bed. The following day, to his amazement, Hitchell found that overnight his video had been viewed 2.5m times and no fewer than 135,000 emails were in his inbox, many offering him gigs all over the world. 

Tonight @ the Globe - Alison Rayner Quintet

© Ken Drew

For football fans this is the big one! Newcastle United v Liverpool at Wembley - the Birdland of football.

The game is on ITV, Sky or a pub near you. Naturally we are rooting for 'the Toon' to deliver the goods but who can tell?

Still, win or lose - celebrate or drown your sorrows - a visit to the Globe - the Wembley of northeast jazz - afterwards to hear the Alison Rayner Quintet is a win-win situation.

Not to be missed even if the match goes to extra time and penalties you'll still have time to get to the Globe for the 8:00pm kick off.

Howay the Lasses - Alison Rayner (bass); Diane McLoughlin (sax) & Deirdre Cartwright (guitar). Howay the Lads - Steve Lodder (keys) & Buster Birch (drums).  Lance

The Hot Teapots @ Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club - March 15

Davide Vincenzi (alto sax, clarinet); Glauco Benedetti (slide & valve trombones); Federico Zaltron (violin); Michele Bertoldi (guitar,  banjo, vocals); Ryan Baer (banjo, guitar, vocals); Martino De Franceschi (double bass) 

Weekend engineering works on the East Coast mainline threatened to derail plans to get to Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. The bus replacement service was an option, however, cadging a lift from a well known musician held greater appeal. And off we went, four in a car, heading to St Augustine's Parish Centre.

Turning into Larchfield Street, through the gates of St Augustine's, the car park was busy, very busy. Admission paid, a sheaf of raffle tickets, a drink and a sarnie, things were brewing nicely. We were there to hear the much vaunted Hot Teapots. Our Italian friends were ready to take to the stage to play to a full house.

Album review: Jay Davis - Bad Trad (Fresh Sound New Talent)

Jay Davis (drums, compositions); Mike Soper (trumpet, flugel); James Allsopp (tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet); Huw V Williams (bass) 

An interesting debut album (as a leader) by award winning drummer and composer Jay Davis. Comprising of nine of Davis' originals compositions that cover a wide spectrum of relatively contemporary jazz, varying from the pastoral to the frantic, jazz sans frontières, approach.

As such, we are faced with moments of absolute beauty contrasting with sounds so ugly I'm reluctant to tag them as music. Still, as Monk discovered, ugly can be beautiful.

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

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

 Playlist 16/03/25 (repeated Tuesday 18/03/25)

Requests: Mark Knopfler.

 

St. Patrick’s Day: Ben Webster.

Charity Request: Abraham’s Children in Crisis: Nina Simone.

St. Patrick's Day cont.: Louis Stewart/Jim Hall, Paul Joseph & Edgar Mills, Noel Kelehan Quintet, Bill Evans, Willie 'The Lion' Smith.

 

Requests: Brownie McGhee & Sonny Terry.

 

Memories: Buck Clayton meets Ruby Braff.

 

News from Scotland: SNJO/Trilok Gurtu.

 

Requests. Thelonious Monk Quartet, Courtney Pine, John Coltrane.

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

LP review: Dee Dee Bridgewater - Live in Paris (Affinity)

Dee Dee Bridgewater (vocals); Hervé Sellin (piano); Antoine Bonfils (bass); André Ceccarelli (drums)

I cannot pass a charity shop. I'm drawn inside like a moth to a flame, willing to take a chance on getting burned. Once I've passed through the portals they invariably unearth much sort after gems even if, before going in, I hadn't realised I was seeking the particular gem clutched in my sweaty palms as I leave.

Such was the case today, the main reason I went into the YMCA shop in Gateshead was to shelter from the rain and count the LPs by Jim Reeves and Perry Como until the storm subsided.

The score stood at Jim 6 and Perry 5 before she appeared in all her splendour - Dee Dee Bridgewater Live in Paris. At £1.50 I couldn't pass this one up!

Press release: Alison Rayner Quintet (ARQ) @ the Globe this Sunday (March 16)

© Ken Drew

Led by bassist and composer Alison Rayner, multi award-winning quintet ARQ are widely celebrated from 10 years of extensive UK and European touring across a complete range of jazz clubs, concert halls and international festivals as well as being critically acclaimed for their three album releases August (2014) , A Magic Life (2016) and Short Stories (2019). All have garnered extensive press acclaim and international radio play, with Rayner also winning a coveted Ivor Novello Composer Award for There is a Crack in Everything from Short Stories.

This year, ARQ celebrates 10 years of contributing to the cultural jazz landscape with their fourth album of collaborative, newly composed and original music SEMA4*, recorded live in summer 2024.

 

Press release: NCRO @ Gosforth Civic Theatre - March 21

Tickets are still available for the 25th Anniversary Concert at Gosforth Civic Theatre by the New Century Ragtime Orchestra on Friday evening, March21  at 7:30pm.

On piano will be special guest Martin Litton, an internationally renowned musician, arranger and bandleader, specialising in all the classic styles of jazz from ragtime to swing.

Once again Nick Ward will be on vintage percussion, and of course the vivacious chanteuse Caroline will be singing in her inimitable style.

 

This will be the second time that NCRO have performed at this excellent venue, which is on Gosforth High Street very near Regent Centre metro station, with ample parking nearby at the station (free after 5:00pm) or the Asda supermarket.  The nearest postcode is NE3 3PF.  Everything is on the ground floor, and there is a cafe/bar open throughout the concert.

Album review: The Dave Robbins Big Band - Happy Faces ( Reel to Real Records)

Dave Robbins (trombone, leader); (collective) Dave Quarin (alto sax); Fraser MacPherson (tenor sax, flute); Wally Snider (baritone sax, clarinet); Stew Barnett, Arnie Chycoski, Carse Sneddon, Don Clark, Bobby Hales, Dick Forrest (trumpets); Doug Kent (French horn); Chris Gage (piano); Don Thompson, Paul Ruhland (bass); Al Johnson (drums) 

Recorded in Vancouver in 1963 and 1965 these recently discovered tracks feature musicians who, at the time, were the crème de la crème of Vancouver jazz and had they been alive today they  would probably still be. As it is, not many are still with us. Bassist Don Thompson and trumpeter Don Clark are two of the survivors and are interviewed by Cory Weeds in the booklet which provides an interesting insight into the band, the musicians and the jazz scene in Vancouver in the early '60s.

Andrea Brachfeld - Walking The Bar

When jazz/blues fans talk of musicians 'walking the bar' they are invariably thinking of tenor saxists like Big Jay McNeely or Sam Butera and not flautists.

However, listening to Andrea Brachfeld on the above YouTube clip I came to the conclusion that if any flautist could do it then then she would be the one.

Accompanied by Bill O'Connell (piano); Harvie S (bass) and Jason Tiemann (drums) Andrea Brachfeld makes out a strong case in support of the flute in a blues bar environment. Lance