An avowed champion of the Northern, especially Newcastle, jazz scene, and with the support of the Arts Council and the splendid Help Musicians, here are two different projects from John Pope.

The quintet, with its busy, perhaps a little crowded front line, is energetic, urgent and free in spirit. Where ‘Free Spin’ jollies along, ‘Shadow Work’ is an ominous progression with trumpet and sax suitably tempestuous in mood. ‘A Procession of Heads’ as the name suggests finds the front line battling and urgent against a succession of figures. The centre just about holds while part of the fun is how those horns veer toward a rambunctious chaos.

By contrast Something Happened showcases Moore’s talent as the trio developed their themes and relationship before a live audience with the minimum of rehearsal. The testing heart of the show is the nearly 13-minute-long ‘Some More/Middle of the Road’, a thoughtful meditation that morphs into Asian intonations. An uplifting contrast is Hunter’s ‘First Half of May’, a melodic lullaby, sweetly expressed.