Thomas Dixon Quartet and Not Now Charlie show zeal and promise at Newcastle's Bridge Hotel
Thursday, March 28, 2019
One night, two exciting young bands, at the Bridge Hotel in Newcastle.
Thomas Dixon is a young reedsman to watch. Graduating from the Sage Jazz Degree in 2017, Dixon has recently found his feet as a bandleader and composer of impressive talent. His acoustic quartet played NFoJaIM in October 2018, performing atmospheric, emotive original material to a packed afternoon house. Just five months later he presented an entirely new electric quartet, showcasing another set of original material.
From the opener 'Moondrunk', the ensemble has a very contemporary electronic jazz feel, with an itchy beat courtesy of drummer Ben Livingstone and an analogue synth bass-line from Ines Goncalves, overlaid with Dixon’s tenor. 'Inciting Incident' featured mesmeric sections of parallel chords in pianist Ben Lawrence’s solo, and some stickwork that could give Louis Cole a run for his money in an alto and drum play-off. 'Bartesque' looped applause from the previous track with a ton of reverb as an intro, which gradually transitioned into a multi-layered soundscape. 'Emoji' had beautifully behind-beat syncopation, with a hi-hat lead and that parallel chord work again. The set closed with the up-beat, latin infused 'Pr1mav3ra', reflecting another of Dixon’s wide ranging influences. Keep Dixon on your radar; he’s a young player who’s going places.
Led by saxophonist Jamie Toms, Not Now Charlie (pictured) are a quintet of fellow graduates from the Sage, whose set showcased material from their new EP, Keep Your Eyes On The Prize. The title-track and 'Tribute Artist' both tip the hat to Led Bib, whilst 'The Greatest Game' and 'Chasing Your Tail' were reminiscent of early Roxy Music. The standout track of the set was new composition 'Flight 19', a spacious guitar-scape leading to a slow, reggae-like groove, alternating with more swining samba-like passages. Another strong number was 'The Day the Snow Came', written while Toms was snowbound by the Beast from the East, the darkly swirling guitar and sax lines perfectly recreating the atmosphere of that tumultuous storm. The best moments in this set were the less referential compositions, with the band’s newest material hinting at exciting things to come.
– Melanie Grundy