Slowlight Quartet and Not Now Charlie at The Cluny, Newcastle

I was eagerly anticipating my trip to Newcastle's Cluny 2 on Thursday evening to see again the wonderful Slowlight Quartet, having discovered them in June last year. On this occasion £5 got me not only my ticket but a download of a four track live EP. Now that's what I call value for money.

For the uninitiated, the Slowlight Quartet comprise of Paul Lorraine on piano, Jonathan Marriott on drums, Ian 'dodge' Paterson on standup bass and Tom Quilliam on saxophone and they play jazz. But forget the long self indulgent solos you may be used to, as this locally based combo perform their own melodic compositions. I personally liken them to the Neil Cowley Trio but with the added bonus of saxophone. True, Paul Lorraine may not be as extrovert as Cowley and Ian Paterson's beard does not rival that of his counterpart Rex Horan (whose does?) but musically to my ear they match the more famous and successful trio note for note. 

So, we were treated to a collection of tunes both old and new including 'Shifting Ground', 'Iris', 'I Want To Live Long' and a superb 'Walking Spanish'. Then came the crunch when it was revealed that composer Paul Lorraine would be relocating to Bristol. No more Slowlight Quartet I thought! However the good news is that they plan to continue performing together and additionally a new project called Slowlight will feature the other three plus occasional guest vocalists. 

To demonstrate how this might work they invited their first support act, local singer/songwriter Laurie Shepherd on stage to sing a couple of numbers with them. I have to say that the sound they produced bodes well for the future.

Finally they reverted to the usual quartet for an encore which ended with their 'greatest hit', the wonderful 'In Flight', a track which made it onto my best of 2014 compilation CD. I'm already eagerly looking forward to their appearance at the Jazz Cafe in May.











Besides Laurie Shepherd who gained extra brownie points for playing a self penned song 'Two Moons' inspired by Haruki Murakami's superb novel, '1Q84', the band were also supported by another melodic jazz outfit. In the wake of the tragic events in Paris this week, their name Not Now Charlie was curiously apt. I suspect however that it has more to do with Charlie Parker than Charlie Hebdo. Or it might just be to do with Thomas the Tank Engine.

Whatever the story is behind the name, this five piece band of young men could certainly play, belying the fact that this was only their second public engagement following their appearance at the Gateshead Jazz Festival last year. Featuring Jamie Toms on saxophone, Richard Campbell on piano, Liam Gaughan on electric bass, Dave McKeague on drums and Pawel Jedrzejewski on Fender Stratocaster guitar (not an instrument you usually associate with jazz music) they have, I believe, all graduated from Sage Gateshead's BMus Jazz Popular and Commercial Music Degree Programme. And it shows!

The great songs they performed included 'MCT', 'Five Degrees' and 'Russian Girl (Who Speaks No English)'. 

Now, thanks to the Slowlight Quartet, I have discovered another young group who I shall be avidly following in the future. It's fantastic to see that we have such talent on our doorstep. And all for little more than the price of a pint!