Having heard some glowing reviews of The Slowlight Quartet recently, on Friday I took my seat in the Lit & Phil with a feeling of anticipation and I sensed similar in the sizeable crowd around me (extra seating having to be carried in from other rooms). But would I be disappointed, I wondered.
Well, the answer to my own question was no: I was not disappointed!
Comprising of Paul Loraine on piano, Ian 'Dodge' Paterson on upright bass, Jonathan Marriott on drums and Tom Quilliam on saxophones, this young Newcastle based outfit have played together for about 18 months and the reason for their growing reputation soon became apparent. Unlike other acts I have seen at the Lit & Phil, these lads did not play the usual repertoire of jazz standards, but presented to us a dozen of their own compositions. Also, unlike other jazz acts, they steered away from lengthy self indulgent solo improvisations. The emphasis from the Slowlight Quartet is on tight melodic sounding pieces with interesting chord structures and varied, exciting rhythms.
Taking 'In Flight' as an example, it begins with some gentle, stately piano and as each instrument is added, the piece grows until Tom Quilliam is allowed free rein to provide some soaring sax phrases to bring the song to it's conclusion. Throughout their performance, Jonathan Marriott provides a wide range of textures using every part of his kit, constantly switching between sticks, brushes and mallets, even within the same piece of music. Staring at the ceiling as he keeps a rock steady rhythm, he and Paterson provide the foundation upon which Quilliam and Loraine build sublime melodies. Loathe as I am to single out any individual from this fine unit, I have to make particular mention of Tom Quilliam. Boy can he play!
As if these four musicians were not enough, an extra dimension was given to many of the pieces by the addition of a string quartet who came to the fore during some of the quieter moments. The contrast between the hard driving saxophone and the more pastoral piano and strings added considerably to the whole listening experience.
The ovation for these wonderful musicians felt like it might never end and perhaps it only did to allow people to join me in the queue to purchase the limited edition five track EP. Personally I can't wait to hear their first full length album and hopefully to see many more performances from this exciting new band.
Please check out the website for the band at http://www.theslowlightquartet.co.uk/
This also contains a stream of four live tracks recorded at a Newcastle gig in March 2013.
I hope you enjoy as much as I did.
My apologies in advance if today's post is a little localised but I did not want to miss the opportunity to broadcast the fact that the wonderful Lit & Phil (Newcastle Literary & Philosophical Society) are going to run a series of guided walks around Newcastle during the summer months (May to September).
The route of these historical walks will illustrate the development of the city from Roman times and will take in aspects of the city's cultural and literary past. And all of this for free!
To publicise this venture, the Lit & Phil posted these fascinating then and now pictures of Castle Garth and Dog Leap Stairs.
Here is another similar view in black and white.
The church that can be seen in the background was then the Parish Church of St Nicholas which in 1882 became St Nicholas' Cathedral.
Incidentally, Dog Leap Stairs which run from Castle Garth down to The Side towards Newcastle Quayside, are referred to in the song 'Down To The Waterline' by Dire Straits. You can hear the song here.
If you live in the north east of England or happen to be visiting during the summer months, these tours have to be a marvellous way to learn something of the history of this fine city. Further details are on the Lit & Phil Facebook page which you can access here.
It is always pleasing when the region in which I live is nationally recognised for the beautiful place it truly is. Northumberland is the northernmost county in England and just happens to also be the most sparsely populated county. Consequently it is easy to get far away from the madding crowd and truly enjoy all the astonishing scenery that is to be found in the countryside or along it's magnificent coastline.
Recently the northeastern actor, Robson Green has presented his own TV series on the many splendours and the rich history of the county. This week I watched another program presented by Tony Robinson who as an actor is best remembered for his portrayal of Baldrick in the TV series, 'Blackadder'. More recently Robinson has been associated with the archaeological program, 'Time Team'.
On this occasion, he related the story of the seventh century Anglo-Saxon monk, St. Cuthbert while walking the route that has become known as St. Cuthbert's Way. This took Robinson from the Scottish borders town of Melrose to Bamburgh and Holy Island on the Northumberland coast.The scenery was fantastic and if the sight of the majestic Bamburgh Castle does not lure visitors to these parts, then I am not sure what will.
The region has also been recently recognised in a series of songs released on an album entitled 'East Coast Fret'. The title is something of a play on words as fret can refer to the mist that occasionally rolls inland off the north sea, but also to the fingerboard on a guitar. And the artist in question, Michael Woods, is a very fine guitar player.
I popped along to see him playing a set to promote the album at the Lit & Phil in Newcastle. His opening number 'Blink of an Eye' paid homage to the Millenium Bridge which spans the Tyne between Gateshead and Newcastle and which is designed to represent a blinking eye as it opens and closes to allow shipping to pass below.
Woods plays fingerpicking guitar in blues or ragtime style and by his own admission is heavily influenced by the great American blues players, Blind Boy Fuller and Rev. Gary Davis. Consequently besides playing numbers from his latest album, he also covered more traditional numbers such as 'Mississippi Blues'.
The titles of his own newer songs mean much to me but unless you happen to be familiar with Tyneside, will mean absolutely nothing to you. So while I can conjure up images of 'Salters Bridge' or 'Haddricks Mill' such names will mean nothing to the casual listener. And even the latter required a certain degree of imagination as the beautiful song brought to mind the open fields, woodland streams and of course the mill that once dominated this South Gosforth area. Now any visitor is faced with a conjunction of four busy roads and two mini roundabouts that are death traps for cyclists.
So this is my problem with instrumental song titles. In effect the songs could be about absolutely anything. Nevertheless I enjoyed my hour in the company of this Durham born guitarist and I wish him well with his new album. As I said at the outset, it is always a pleasure to have my own region recognised.
Here is a link to the website of Michael Woods which features some song samples for you to try: http://www.michaelwoodsmusic.com/index.html
Having mentioned the Lit & Phil in my last post, it seems fitting that I should visit there for my second jazz concert within twenty four hours.
On this occasion we were in the presence of a great jazz pianist, Paul Edis and his equally great partner for the afternoon, Graham Hardy who played trumpet and flugelhorn.
As you can see from the program of music, and being 14th February, they had something of a Valentine theme going on, though we were assured that this was somewhat coincidental.
Whatever the theme, the music was truly wonderful with both of these musicians really being at the very top of their game. Normally they are both members of the Paul Edis Sextet who released an album, 'There Will Be Time' a couple of years ago. Paul has also more recently released his own solo album, 'Not Like Me'.
The next album from the sextet is due out this Spring. I recommend that you try to seek these albums out or better still catch them live if you possibly can.
