Jazz notes

Only 18 months after the Phoenix rebirth, the cruel hand of fate stepped in and Tim, left, passed away on March 23.

His intended 60th birthday celebration, an all-day jam session planned for March 26, was rescheduled by Val and the family for last Saturday and York jazz musicians and fans rallied to the Phoenix Inn to pay tribute to his memory.

Chris Moore and Dave Smyth were the rhythmic fulcrum for a changing roster of musicians, with Paul Baxter, John Marley and Eddie Jackson successively taking the bass chair. Trumpeters James Lancaster and Ian Chalk played long stints and were augmented by Andrew Cox (saxophone) and Leeds-based Miles on violin, plus vocalist Kate Peters.

A star in the making was 17-year-old guitarist Billy, a young man to watch.

Loyal fans turned out in numbers, plus several musicians dropping in for a drink and the pub and beer garden were jammed, a tribute to the impact Val and Tim have made on the York scene. In view of the Coalition Government’s swingeing cuts to the Arts Council budget, jazz musicians and fans must be eternally grateful to the sponsorship of live music from pubs such as the Phoenix.

Many of the jazz clubs in our region are losing whatever small grants they have from Arts Council-funded Jazz Yorkshire, so we must applaud York pub venues for free entry, so keep turning up, eating and drinking to subsidise the live music.

The Sunday nights at the Phoenix with the Ian Chalk Quartet continue and the Wednesday night jam with James Lancaster and Chris Moore is firmly in place too (01904 656401).

Jazz Yorkshire is using some of its remaining funding to support a double bill of young bands at Wakefield Jazz tonight. Saxophonist Matt Anderson, voted Young Musician of the Year, has been commissioned by Creative North Yorkshire to write a suite “Songs of the Ridings.”

His quartet at Wakefield tonight includes York bass player John Marley. Second band up is Yoruba, an eight-piece band, modern jazz with Latin rhythms, details from 01977 680542.

Jazz In The Spa presents rousing Traditional jazz from the North East with the Maine Street Jazzmen tomorrow night (01937 842636). The Trustees Hall, Boston Spa, is unlicensed, so take your own tipple.

Sunday jazz at the Phoenix is preceded by the Zezo Olimpio Trio at Kennedy’s Cafe Bar from 1pm (01904 620222) and the Royal York Hotel has a lunchtime session, with Rat Pack-style music and a carvery (01904 653681).

The Blueflies will play the Roman Bath, St Sampson’s Square, on Sunday night.

An extra two nights at Kennedy’s next week will be with pianist Jami Sheriff on Tuesday and the Hitmen, featuring award-winning guitarist Alex Munk and Eddie Hick, drummer with Gilad Atzmon’s Band, on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Scarborough Jazz joins with the Scarborough Literary Festival to present Jazz and Dr Johnson, an enjoyable evening of jazz interspersed by the wit and wisdom of great 18th Century character, Samuel Johnson. The jazz quartet is led by Chris Hodgkins (trumpet) and literary narration is by Susan Sheridan (01723 500570).

Spoilt for choice in York on Thursday, jazz fans head for Bejazzled and Mike Riley at the Old White Swan, Goodramgate (01904 540911), or for Jules And The Gang at the Victoria Vaults, Nunnery Lane (01904 654307). Mike is the featured guitarist, Don Lodge rhythm guitar and Tim New (saxophone/flute) are at the Swan, while drummer Jules has Frank Brooker and Greg Wadman fronting, with pianist Bob Smeaton as musical director. Vocalist Rosie offers open mic in the second set.

Always keen on freebies, Jazz Notes draws your attention to a free cover-mounted CD on April’s Jazzwise magazine. The15 varied tracks from the Babel label include Billy Jenkins, Partisans and Acoustic Ladyland and are either refreshingly modern or straight to landfill, depending on your jazz preferences. A safer course would be to spend money on albums by such Yorkies as Evolution (Paul Baxter Trio) or First Days (Ian Chalk Quartet).