Hull Jazz goes beyond its fourth decade, presenting winter trio gigs by John Etheridge and Fergus Quill

Now into its 41st year of continuous presentations, the Hulljazz promoters have been newly funded by Hull City Council and the Jazz North organisation, allowing them to book shows in a broader range of venues. This development came at exactly the right time, as it was announced only a few weeks ago that the William Gemmell Ale House, Hulljazz’s regular venue since lockdown times, was being suddenly placed on the auction market.

Soft Machine guitarist John Etheridge brought out his Trio North, featuring Ben Crosland (electric bass) and Tom Townsend (drums). The New Adelphi Club started out as a music joint in 1984, the year after Hulljazz formed. It remains the most significant venue in Hull, although most of its gigs are more in the rock, electronic, folk, country and dub zones. Hopefully, there will be more jazz soonish, as Etheridge did pretty well for a quiet and chilly Tuesday evening.

Cut free from a Softs (and even a Zappa) repertoire, Etheridge dove into standards, although not always the usual numbers from the usual genres. ‘Careless Love’ was relaxed and low volume, an easy going lightness imparted by the guitarist’s ever-joking patter. A porch vibe was cast, with Townsend just using the sparse kit of snare, hi-hat and bass drum, mostly with brushes. Etheridge had a frisson of rock-blues to his tone when playing a solo ‘Georgia On My Mind’, some notes lingering with a soft fuzz. Red Mitchell’s ‘Fungii Mama’ was taken at a fast clip, with Etheridge using a pedal that made his strings sound like a calypso steel pan. Following with ‘Cold Cold Heart’, a windswept Hank Williams prairie downer, illustrated how widely Etheridge will travel, and he even sang on this one, using an occasional whammy bar embellishment. John Scofield’s ‘Do Like Eddie’ closed the first set, with the heaviest number yet, almost in jam band mode.

Etheridge opened the second half completely solo, with Charles Mingus and Dollar Brand tunes, slipping in some loop-work, then getting into Jeff Beck’s ‘Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers’, chased by Tom Jobim’s ‘Insensatez’. This was one of the more varied covers sets possible, but Etheridge also topped off the night with his own slowie ‘A Distant Voice’, then Mel Tormé’s ‘Comin’ Home Baby’. How many artists will hop from Tormé to Beck, Scofield to Red Mitchell, nowadays?

The Fergus Quill Trio came across from Leeds, appearing at the Albemarle Music Centre, right in Hull city centre, next door to Hull Truck Theatre. Not accustomed to public gigs, the residents of this distinctive cone-shaped building will hopefully make further live show bookings. Their small upstairs room was quite filled, this time on a Thursday night. Bassman Quill concentrates strongly on original compositions, offering a wired-up power trio approach, capturing the audience via high skill, beaming extroversion and speed-stamina. His pardners are Nico Widdowson (piano) and Theo Goss (drums). Just these three concoct a sonic range beyond their number, particularly with their leader’s deeply woody-resonant physical assault on the bass strings.

Widdowson enjoys a schizoid approach, between aggressive free-form jabbing and soft waltzing, humour indeed existing inside this jazz form. The avant swing switches tempo frequently, jackknifing into abstraction, as Goss makes a trebly snare tattoo ring. Then, Quill will take a weeping bowed solo, this sensitivity continuing into ‘Amazing Grace’, a rare ‘cover’. This had emerged from their own ‘Find Out’, apparently never played in public previously. Space and fragmentation were tools on the piano, in a Monkish mode, leaping into a ragtime section. ‘Heroes Return’ featured further bass bowing, and then group singing for all. ‘Take The “A” Train’ came as a slow ballad surprise, then ‘Intergalactic Thing’ paid homage to Sun Ra, although its rock’n’roll progress also invoked Mose Allison and Jerry Lee Lewis. The night closed with the school’s Jazz Camp players in a reading of ‘Blue Monk’.

The Matt Smith Quartet welcomed January in the Goodfellowship Inn, not far from The University Of Hull. This was the regular haunt of Hulljazz, pre-lockdown, so we now have something of a nostalgic return. Tenorman Smith played in one of the pub’s two back rooms, joined by Gary Gillyett (guitar). The first set was filled with completely predictable standards, but still enjoyable, while the second moved slightly sideways, involving some more intensified soloing, and some more spatial dynamism. ‘’Ain’t Misbehavin’’ featured just tenor and bass, in a very slow version, with a slight saxophone burr, then Gillyett joined for ‘Sunny Side Of The Street’, also in a very slow guise, with softly bending tenor inflections. The eleventh hour drummer replacement was Chris Sykes, who was highly impressive in the way he fit in, as well as filling his playing with a wide range of percussive elements, particularly in the rock’n’roll or even Latin garage rock zones. They selected the Stan Getz style-treatment of ‘Desafinado’, with a fine conversation between guitar and drums.

Almost every number was taken at a very slow pace, but the second set contained accelerative properties. Whoa, we were now getting into the 1950s! ‘Tenor Madness’ was given a James Burton country flavour by Gillyett, who’s clearly inspired outside of jazz itself, but ‘Careless Love’ brought back the gentle coasting aura. Again, this could be emanating from a country home, but dotted with groovin’ drum tattoos.

It looks like all of these venues will be used again, in the newly itinerant Hulljazz calendar, each of them encouraging different aspects of the music, and with an emphasis on Tuesdays and Thursdays rather than the traditional Wednesday sessions at the auctioned Ale House.