Tag Archives: David Newton
Edinburgh Jazz Festival 2016: Carol Kidd & David Newton
Carol Kidd & David Newton, Spiegeltent St Andrew Square *****
Well, well – just when you're beginning to wonder if the days of five-star reviews for Carol Kidd concerts are in the past, she turns in the performance of this reviewer's jazz festival.
Thursday evening's concert may only have been an hour long, and the singer and her pianist may have had to contend with an unacceptable amount of external noise, but it was an absolute delight from start to finish, with Kidd on top form as she powered through ten songs with a minimal amount of chat in between.
Reunited with David Newton, her pianist/MD in the early 1990s, Kidd revisited many favourite numbers from her earlier career, notably a rare outing for How Little We Know which featured the singer at her playful best, clearly enjoying herself whether she was getting a kick out of the cheekily sexy lyrics or bopping around on the stage during Newton's elegantly swinging solo.
She also, undoubtedly, got a kick out of the effect her singing had on the sold-out Spiegeltent audience. There wasn't a sound to be heard in the tent (outside was a different matter – yapping dogs, drinkers' chatter and sirens were just some of the sounds that listeners had to blank out). Everyone was spellbound and rivetted, not least by Kidd's ever-mesmerising way with a ballad. How Do You Keep the Music Playing was heart-wrenchingly lovely while The Ballad of the Sad Young Men was a masterclass in painting a vivid picture in song – and, with its line "All the news is bad again; kiss your dreams goodbye", painfully poignant and apt.
Here's listening to you, Kidd …
First published in HeraldScotland on Sunday July 24th
Carol Kidd & David Newton, Spiegeltent St Andrew Square, Edinburgh, Thursday July 21st
A Foggy Day
How Little We Know
Ballad of the Sad Young Men
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Moonlight in Vermont (DN solo)
How Do You Keep the Music Playing
You Don't Know Me
When I Dream (encore)
Filed under Edinburgh Jazz Festival reviews archive
Tagged as Ballad of the Sad Young Men, Carol Kidd, Dave Newton, David Newton, Edinburgh Jazz Festival, Edinburgh Jazz Festival 2016, How Do You Keep the Music Playing, Spiegeltent
Sandy Taylor Obituary
Sandy Taylor, who has died at the age of 92, was a popular and elegant Scottish jazz pianist and the music director for singer Carol Kidd's first three albums. A familiar face to anyone who attended jazz concerts at the Glasgow Society of Musicians in the 1980s, and the resident pianist in various west of Scotland hotels over the decades, he was also something of a mentor to such younger musicians as the saxophonist Laura Macdonald and the singer/pianist and BBC radio presenter Stephen Duffy.
Born at the family home, Dumfin Sawmill, Glenfruin in 1922, Alexander Wilson Taylor attended the Vale of Leven Academy in Alexandria before serving in the RAF as a radio operator on a Halifax bomber during the war. His family operated Dumfin Sawmill, and Taylor followed in his father's footsteps by taking over the mill, while also working as a self—employed joiner and playing piano gigs. He married Marjorie in 1958, and they had two children, Sanders and Joyce.
In 1968, after two storms in quick succession both devastated the dam, lade and waterwheel on the Fruin which powered the machinery in the Taylor premises, the mill stopped operating as a sawmill but Taylor continued to live at Dumfin until he went into sheltered housing in 2012, two years after Marjorie's death.
In the mid-1970s, Taylor joined the band led by saxophonist/vibraphonist Jimmy Feighan which had a long-standing Saturday afternoon gig at Glasgow's Lorne Hotel. The band's singer was Carol Kidd, newly returned to singing after a decade-long absence. She and Taylor hit it off immediately, and their musical rapport soon began to inspire enquiries from promoters who wanted to book Kidd plus Taylor, and the rest of the rhythm section – Alex Moore on bass guitar and Murray Smith on drums. Before long they were regulars at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival and playing three fortnights a year at Ronnie Scott's in London.
For Kidd, working with Taylor was the closest musical relationship she had had. "He knew exactly the kind of songs that would suit my voice and he knew how to accompany a singer – which is an art form in itself." David Newton, the then up-and-coming pianist who succeeded Taylor as Kidd's accompanist, credits the older player with providing him with a Eureka moment about the art of accompaniment.
"In the late 1970s I played piano in a club called Aphrodite in London. The singer Karen Kay, who had been on a talent show like Opportunity Knocks, came and I was her accompanist for six weeks. At the end of it she said: 'Thanks very much, but you're the worst accompanist a singer could have.'
"So, bearing this in mind, when I came up to Scotland and started working with singers I watched Sandy Taylor in action. He knew when to play and when not to play – when to leave space for the singer to do what she or he does. None of this footling about."
Kidd describes Taylor's style as minimalist, adding: "Another thing I loved about him was that his sense of humour came through in his playing – and that's not often the case with musicians. He had a lovely way of making things light and quite funny and then very serious –
and that's what his personality was all about too. He had a wonderful personality."
Indeed, Taylor was known in the Scottish jazz scene as a raconteur par excellence, who would tell long-winded tales and reel his listener in before walloping them in the face with a devastating punchline. Drummer and bandleader Ken Mathieson, who played regularly with Taylor at the Duck Bay Marina, recalls: "Sandy was a genuine one-off: he could be a prickly character who wouldn't tolerate fools at all, but if he decided you were a friend, you were a friend for life with no reprieves or paroles. He was fantastically entertaining company."
For Laura Macdonald, the renowned alto saxophonist who, in her late teens and early twenties, played a weekly duo gig with Taylor at the Inn on the Green in Glasgow for a few years before she went to study in the USA, the age difference between her and the then septuagenarian pianist didn't get in the way of their instant friendship.
She says: "He had the spirit of a young man and we just clicked. He was always totally mischievous and would crack me up on the bandstand and off. Musically, he was a soulmate – we couldn't believe how often we both played the same thing at the same moment in an improvisation. We'd come off the bandstand and sit and stare at each other and and say 'How did that happen?!'. He gave me confidence, and freed me up musically."
Sandy Taylor is survived by his younger twin brothers Bill and Joe, his son Sanders, his daughter Joyce as well as two grand-daughters and a great-grandson.
Sandy Taylor, pianist, born November 28 1922; died April 21 2015
* First published in The Herald, Saturday May 11
Filed under Obituaries
Tagged as Alex Moore, Carol Kidd, David Newton, Glasgow Society of Musicians, Ken Mathieson, Laura Macdonald, Murray Smith, Sandy Taylor
CD Recommendations – April 2012
Billie Holiday: The Complete Masters 1933-1959 (Universal)
As somebody who already owns everything by her favourite singer – but scattered across box sets, single CDs and LPs – I am thrilled with this exquisitely presented limited edition collection of all the master takes from her vast and varied career. It's a shame not to have some of the best alternative takes, but great to not have two versions of the same tune back to back. And to be able to hear her go from radiant, ebullient, teens-to-twentysomething Billie on her joyful 1930s small group recordings, right through to her worn-out, but utterly compelling and sumptuous final (with strings) album, is a privilege and a treat.
Derek Nash Acoustic Quartet: Joyriding (Jazzizit Records)
British saxophonist Derek Nash's first CD with his regular trio is a fresh, funky and engaging affair which features an imaginative selection of tunes, most of them originals by Nash himself but also such stand-outs as the Ennio Morricone's unjustly neglected Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso and a Gerry Mulligan-inspired take on Jerome Kern's All The Things You Are. Nash is a lovely, melodic player who has a terrific rapport with his trio, particularly with the ever-elegant pianist David Newton.
Ruby Braff: Three Classic Albums Plus (Avid Jazz)
Wow. This is one of the best of these Avid two-CD sets that I've heard. The great trumpeter Ruby Braff was in his early thirties when these four late-1950s LPs were recorded – and his playing is sensational, as is the company he keeps (Roy Eldridge, Bud Freeman, Freddie Green, Hank Jones – on vibes! – etc). In fact, it's difficult to get past the first album, Hi-Fi Salute to Bunny, which finds him alongside the legendary clarinettist Pee Wee Russell and is an absolute gem, featuring a string of unforgettable, downright sexy takes on such evergreens as I'm Coming Virginia.
Bucky Pizzarelli: Challis in Wonderland (Arbors Records)
The octogenarian US guitarist Pizzarelli is still playing as superbly as ever. On this new CD, he pays homage to both the legendary Bix Beiderbecke and Bill Challis, the arranger who ensured that Beiderbecke's masterful piano compositions were transcribed and saved for posterity. All four of those feature here (played on guitar, of course), alongside some other Bixian numbers and tunes of his era – plus Pizzarelli's own title composition. He's joined by his son and fellow guitarist John, and a string quartet featuring the violin whiz Aaron Weinstein. Delightful stuff.
Nigel Clark: Under the Stars (Circular Records)
While some solo guitar players seem to sap the life out of their material by picking it apart, stretching it out and extemporising ad infinitum, Glasgow-based guitar star Clark brings colour, energy and lyricism to whatever he plays – as effectively as if a whole band was performing. On the 16 eclectic tracks included on this, his first, solo album, his classy taste and love of (and respect for) a beautiful melody shine through – among the highlights are numbers by Jerome Kern, Carlos Santana, Antonio Carlos Jobim and a trio of original tunes.
Ella Fitzgerald: The Complete Masters 1935-1955 (Universal)
The Ella Fitzgerald set in this superb new series of limited edition box sets may not – as the Billie Holiday one did – cover her entire career, but it takes in some of her finest work, notably this reviewer's favourite Fitzgerald recordings, the duos with elegant pianist Ellis Larkins in 1950 (her first Gershwin songbook) and 1954. The 14 discs span the dynamic singer's output from her coquettish debut with Chick Webb through to the 1950s when she exuded a downright regal quality on her ballads.
Charlie Parker: The Complete Masters 1941-1954 (Universal)
As with the other box sets in this limited edition series, this 11-disc collection is a must-have for anyone interested in the subject; this time, the legendary bebop pioneer and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. It traces his evolution – and that of bop – from his Kansas City beginnings in the mid-1940s with Jay McShann's blues 'n' boogie-style band through to his sporadic final recordings before his untimely 1954 death (aged 35). Highlights include his electrifying encounters with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk and his masterful strings albums.
Sidney Bechet: The Complete American Masters 1931-1953 (Universal)
The legendary New Orleans-born clarinettist and soprano saxophonist is the subject of the fourth and final of the superb new limited edition box sets from Universal. This collection isn't comprehensive – the recordings he made after settling in France in June 1950 aren't included (so Midnight in Paris fans won't find Si Tu Vois Ma Mere) – but it is an impressive 14-disc set nevertheless and spans his career from 1923 (though he first recorded in 1921) to 1950, by which time he was being feted by the younger generation.
Filed under CD reviews
Tagged as Aaron Weinstein, Arbors Records, Avid Jazz, Bill Challis, Billie Holiday, Billie Holiday The Complete Masters, Bix Beiderbecke, Bucky Pizzarelli, Challis in Wonderland, Charlie Parker, Charlie Parker The Complete Masters, David Newton, Derek Nash, Derek Nash Acoustic Quartet, Ella Fitzgerald, Ella Fitzgerald The Complete Masters, Ellis Larkins, Hi-Fi Salute to Bunny, Jazzizit Records, Joyriding, Midnight in Paris, Nigel Clark, Pee Wee Russell, Ruby Braff, Sidney Bechet The Complete American Masters, Three Classic Albums Plus, Under
News and Blues
….. Top Scots jazz singer Carol Kidd and her ace guitarist Nigel Clark release their first duo album next month. Tell Me Once Again (Linn) is an exquisite collection of ballads, bossa novas (including one by Stevie Wonder) and a Buble-inspired R 'n' B classic. Oh, and you might recognise the name of the writer who wrote the liner notes …
….. Carol Kidd's onetime pianist David Newton returns to his native Glasgow on March 24 to
play a quartet gig, also featuring saxophonist Stewart Forbes, at the Glasgow Art Club – the newest old venue on the Glasgow scene. The concert is part of Bridge Jazz's new season. Visit www.bridgejazz.co.uk for details of this and other forthcoming concerts…
…..The Norwich Jazz Party runs from April 30-May 2 this year. Among those offering the ideal alternative to the inevitable wall-to-wall coverage of a certain event on April 29 are: Marty Grosz, Ken Peplowski, Warren Vache, Alan Barnes, Howard Alden, Duke Heitger, Daryl Sherman, Bob Wilber (pictured, above, in Nairn with Andrew Cleyndert on bass), Dan Block, Rossano Sportiello, Roy Williams, Scott Hamilton, Jim Galloway and Karen Sharp.
…. The Keswick Jazz Festival runs from May 12-15 this year, and as if there wasn't enough jazz crammed into that weekend in the shape of my favourite classic jazz band – The Hot Antic Jazz Band, from France – and such top British and American names as Alan Barnes, Karen Sharp, John Hallam, Jeff Barnhart, Wendell Brunious, Enrico Tomasso and Keith Nichols, there are also going to be some pre-festival gigs by some of them, plus the Big Chris Barber Band and the Tim Kliphuis Trio (both on May 9).
Filed under Concert reviews, Uncategorized
Tagged as Alan Barnes, Bob Wilber, Bridge Jazz, Carol Kidd, David Newton, Glasgow Art Club, Hot Antic Jazz Band, Keswick Jazz Festival, Nigel Clark, Norwich Jazz Party, Stewart Forbes, Tell Me Once Again, Warren Vache
CD Recommendations
John Sheridan's Dream Band: Hooray for Christmas! (Arbors Records)
Yup, it's an early Christmas album – and an early Christmas gift for anyone who likes to keep the music swinging through the "holiday season". Pianist/bandleader Sheridan has compiled a lovely selection of off-the-beaten-track festive songs, several of which originate in movies set at Christmas time, and assembled a terrific band to play them. Among the individual stars in this 12-piece outfit are sunny-voiced singer Rebecca Kilgore; cornettists Warren Vache and Randy Reinhart, and clarinettist/saxophonists Dan Block and Scott Robinson.
Chet Baker: It Could Happen to You (OJC Remasters)
This classic 1958 album is one of my all-time favourites, and it's just been reissued with two more alternate takes than when it last came out on CD. The great trumpeter and singer Chet Baker interprets a superb collection of songs in his unique, wistful way, showcasing a vocal style which is plaintive-sounding even on the uptempo tracks. Unlike the other Chet Baker vocal albums, this one features scatting – which sounds like trumpet solos without the horn.. Ace singer-trumpeter, ace quartet; a must for anyone interested in jazz.
Ehud Asherie: Welcome to New York (Arbors Records)
Asherie is a young Israeli-born, New York-based pianist who has soaked up influence from the great Harlem stride pianists as well from the bop masters. On this beautiful solo album, he reveals the most delicate, Waller-like of touches and a lyrical style which lends itself elegantly to the 13 Manhattan-themed tracks. Highlights include the rarely heard Lovers in New York (from Breakfast at Tiffany's) and Manhattan Serenade, a theme used on everything from the 1936 comedy My Man Godfrey to the Tom and Jerry classic Mouse in Manhattan.
Stewart Forbes: High Five (Birnam CD)
Scottish alto saxophonist Stewart Forbes's memorable duo gig with pianist David Newton at the 2009 Glasgow Jazz Festival was undoubtedly the inspiration for this CD which finds him reunited with Newton, and playing duets with four other pianists – Mira Opalinska, Alan Benzie, David Patrick and Richard Michael. Forbes's alto is forthright and feisty-sounding and, on the two Ellington numbers, he evokes beautifully the majesty of the great Johnny Hodges. The mix of pianists and moods works well, as does a two-track switch to soprano sax.
Tagged as Alan Benzie, Arbors Records, Birnam CD, Chet Baker, Dan Block, David Newton, David Patrick, Ehud Asherie, High Five, Hooray For Christmas!, It Could Happen To You, John Sheridan, Lovers in New York, Manhattan Serenade, Mira Opalinska, Randy Reinhart, Rebecca Kilgore, Richard Michael, Scott Robinson, Stewart Forbes, Warren Vache
Scott Hamilton & Alan Barnes: Hi-Ya (Woodville Records)
What a superb album this is. The second horn-to-horn encounter between saxophonists Scott Hamilton and Alan Barnes on the Woodville label, it finds both musicians on top form on a selection of mostly Johnny Hodges tunes. Every track's a winner but among the highlights are Hamilton's rich, laidback tenor solo on First Klass, which contrasts beautifully with Barnes's alto; their thrilling musical tug-of-war on The Jeep is Jumping; David Newton's funky, understated piano solo on the lovely Broadway Babe, and Barnes's powerhouse performance on June's Jumpin'.
The Warren Vache-John Allred Quintet: Top Shelf (Arbors Records)
I must confess to being familiar with the music on this CD before it was released: I wrote the liner notes earlier this year. And was thrilled to do so, as this is a first-rate album which showcases American cornet star and his co-leader, trombonist John Allred – musical partners who couldn't be better matched. Both players distill influences from the classic, swing and bop eras and, in each other's company, revel in a rare chance to flex their bop muscles on tunes by the likes of Blue Mitchell (a particular favourite of both) and Cannonball Adderley.
Nat "King" Cole: The Forgotten 1949 Carnegie Hall Concert (Hep Records)
A Carnegie Hall concert headlined by Nat "King" Cole and his Trio and Woody Herman and his Thundering Herd took place in November 1949, but until very recently, it was assumed that there was no recording of it. Then the Cole set was discovered – and it's presented here (on the Edinburgh-based label, Hep) for the first time. Cole's trios were among the greatest in jazz – and the most influential – and in 1949 he was at the peak of his powers. His playing is terrific, the band is really cooking, and his singing is a joy..
Evan Christopher's Django a la Creole: Finesse (lejazzetal/Fremeaux & Associes)
This sublime CD is one of my favourites of the year so far – and I love it even more now than when I initially reviewed it in July. What makes this Django outfit stand out from the many others on the scene is its Creole twist: Evan Christopher's sweet and swinging Sidney Bechet-inspired playing blends stylishly with the familiar Reinhardt sound (of two guitars plus bass). Among the numerous highlights of this uplifting album are Bechet's Passaporto ao Paraiso, Hoagy Carmichael's Jubilee and two numbers associated with the trumpeter Rex Stewart, who, of course, recorded with Monsieur Reinhardt in the 1930s.
Tagged as Alan Barnes, Arbors Records, Broadway Babe, Carnegie Hall, David Newton, Django Reinhardt, Evan Christopher's Django a la Creole, Finesse, First Klass, Fremeaux & Associes, Hep Records, John Allred, Johnny Hodges, June's Jumpin', lejazzetal, Nat "King" Cole, Scott Hamilton, Sidney Bechet, The Jeep is Jumping, Top Shelf, Warren Vache, Woodville Records
Sinatra @ Ibrox: A Night to Remember
Twenty years ago, my hometown of Glasgow celebrated being named a European City of Culture. One of the most eagerly anticipated events in the city's cultural calendar that memorable year was a concert by the man who was arguably the greatest singer of the 20th century – Frank Sinatra. From the beginning of Glasgow's year as a City of Culture, a visit by Ol' Blue Eyes had been dangled tantalisingly before Glaswegians. And when it finally happened, on July 10, 1990, it proved to be a night to remember.
Scots jazz singer Carol Kidd and her London-based trio had been asked to be the support band after Sinatra's "people" came to a concert and asked for all her CDs to be sent to the man himself. Kidd and her pianist, fellow Glaswegian David Newton, were in Ibrox throughout the day.
"We turned up quite early," says Newton, "and watched the stand in the middle of the stadium being built, and saw these amazing sound guys sorting out what was the best sound I've ever heard. I mean, when the band started playing, it was like listening to a record."
Kidd was also already there when Sinatra "breezed in" wearing a baseball cap and the famous bomber jacket with "The Guv" written on the back. "His soundcheck was four words of a song – Come Fly With Me. Then he walked off."
Newton nods: "It sounded immaculate, so he said: 'I'm outta here'. And off he went."
Kidd played five numbers which, as Newton remembers, "went down a storm". The atmosphere was charged. "A lot of people in the audience hadn't heard him in such a long time and, of course, he had been the soundtrack to their lives. You could feel the excitement building."
Neither Kidd nor Newton was aware at this point that the atmosphere was also charged because of trouble brewing. Outside the stadium, hundreds of fans clutching the most expensive tickets couldn't get in; and inside – in certain areas – confusion reigned over where people were to sit. The stooshie over seating arrangements, which had been changed after people had bought tickets, would rumble on for days.
On a high as she came off, Kidd saw Sinatra arriving at the marquee beside the stage in a golf buggy. "He came upstairs into the marquee where he had his Jack Daniels and his cigarette. We shook hands very, very briefly while somebody fixed his tie. He was totally gorgeous," she says categorically. "Drop-dead gorgeous. Even at 74 – because it's in the eyes. And it was in his eyes. Plus he was in performance mode. At the soundcheck he'd been breezy and laidback, but by this point he was switched on and ready to go."
When Sinatra walked out on to that Ibrox stage – at 8.10pm on July 10, 1990, 37 years after his previous visit to Glasgow – the audience went mad. Edinburgh-based singer and jazz promoter Todd Gordon says: "I had never experienced anything like the roar of that audience. It went right through your body."
For 83 minutes – David Belcher, reviewing for The Herald, timed it – Sinatra held the audience in the palm of his hand with hit after hit, starting with Come Fly With Me. "When it came to My Way – forget it!" says Kidd. "He didn't have to sing. He just stood there and the audience sang it back to him." Belcher wrote: "His voice was amazing, for a man of 34, let alone 74."
"Nevertheless," says journalist Allan Brown, "for me, the music was the least of that evening. Something else entirely has stayed in my mind. There were maybe more than 15,000 of us there, yet the angle of the stand and the proximity of the stage created an atmosphere that was strangely intimate. You had the sense that, were you to rise from your seat and wave, you could easily attract Sinatra's attention. And many did. The flavour of that night was one I have never experienced since: a blend of high devotion and downright gallusness, like a bingo night in the Sistine Chapel."
There was a massive outpouring of affection – and emotion – from the generally geriatric audience. Newton noticed folk clutching bottles of whisky which they were clearly hoping to pass down to the stage, while Jeanette Belcher remembers the poignant sight of the two old ladies next to her "sobbing quietly and without any great drama" through the first few songs.
Gordon had taken his mother along to Ibrox that July night. "On the way through from Edinburgh I began to have severe apprehensions about taking her because she kept saying, 'He was at his best in the 1950s'. I thought: 'Oh God, she thinks he's past it.'
"However, within about two numbers my mum, along with most of the rest of the stadium, was up on her feet between songs. There was something quite magical about the night." Sinatra himself was visibly moved by the warmth of the audience. So much so that he not only treated Glasgow to a rare encore; he also promised he'd be back.
From the wings, Kidd and Newton watched most of the show, tears streaming down their faces as Sinatra gingerly stepped down from the stage to shake hands with the disabled concert-goers stationed at the front of the audience. The Herald's Jack Webster wrote: "The sight of Frank Sinatra strolling along the Ibrox track with a radio-mike in his hands and singing Strangers In The Night will remain one of my richest and most abiding memories."
Then came what David Newton calls "The Moment" – when Sinatra, back up on stage, poured himself a cup of tea and sat on the stool next to a table. Newton recalls: "The spotlight came down, the place went dark and all you could see was a man in a tux. He lit a cigarette – the whole place applauded – sipped his tea and began to sing Angel Eyes. And he turned a football stadium into a small nightclub. I don't know if anyone else on the planet could have done that. It was remarkable."
Tagged as Allan Brown, Angel Eyes, Carol Kidd, Come Fly With Me, David Belcher, David Newton, European City of Culture, Frank Sinatra, Glasgow City of Culture, Ibrox, Jack Webster, The Herald, Todd Gordon