Someone once said something along the lines of "Rock music is 3 chords played to thousands of people while jazz is thousands of chords played to 3 people". That's true in some cases I'm sure but there were far more than three of us in the appreciative crowd at the Jazz Cafe of Friday evening. And while Paul Lorraine may not have literally played thousands of chords on his Nord keyboard, he is clearly no 3 chord merchant. Judging by the majority of the songs on offer, he is also a damn fine composer.
The event was to celebrate the release of a seven track EP recorded live at the Manchester Jazz Festival last year. Earlier in the day the lads had performed at the Gala Theatre in Durham and perhaps that had served as a rehearsal for the Newcastle crowd who were treated to a fine selection of the Slowlights trademark melodic jazz originals. Kicking off with 'Morning Sun' they made quick adjustments to the piano sound level before continuing with 'Moving Target'. The two sets then featured many old favourites including 'If These Walls Had Ears', I Want to Live Long', 'Shifting Ground', the beautiful 'Iris' and of course their "greatest hit", 'In Flight'.
But there was some material that was new, at least to my ears. One example was a track which I believe was called 'Seven Hills' which used some technical wizardry that's way beyond my understanding, to allow Tom Quilliam to play chords on his saxophone. However it was done, it was different and wonderful. As was a very fine cover of Lennon & McCartney's 'Norwegian Wood'.
These four young men are clearly superb musicians individually but it is as a unit that they truly excel. Something I hadn't witnessed before was Jonathan Marriott taking a drum solo but that's exactly what he did to lead us into their final number. Dropping one of his mallets left him undeterred as he recovered in time to do the roll that opens the superb 'Peregrine' and as he began clicking off the tempo on the rim of his snare, the band slot into the rhythm as if they had been born playing together.
How much longer they will remain playing together is a moot point as hints were dropped that this may be their final gig in this area. The gasped reaction from the audience matched my own. We all hope they will be back again very soon. Meanwhile I will just have to content myself listening to the superb music on the aforementioned EP.
Check out for yourself the music that's available on the Slowlight Quartet website.
http://www.theslowlightquartet.co.uk/
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!
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.
