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Bebop Spoken There

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Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

ACV @ The Black Swan, Newcastle - March 29

Ollie Dover (reeds); Chris Sharkey (guitar); Matthew Bourne (keyboards); Andy Champion (bass); Joost Hendrickx (drums).
(Review by Steve H/Photo courtesy of Ken Drew)
Tuesday night saw the relaunch of ACV. The only common factor in the new incarnation of the band was Mr AC himself.
At the start of the evening, Andy explained that the music is inspired by world-renowned land sculptor Richard Long. Both the first and second set consisted of a single continuous piece, each able to evoke the feeling of being witness to the construction of a grand organic sculpture. 
The first piece Here and Now and Then was evolved in several different nuanced forms - it ebbed and flowed as layer upon layer of complex soundscapes enticed the listener in. It took a while to really get into what was going on but at a certain ,there was a passage of just a single repetitive electronic note piercing the silence creating a hypnotic effect. Andy Champion then augmented this with some dramatic bowed double bass enhancing the atmosphere further. From here on in, it was all systems go as the band really picked up momentum and blasted their way to an invigorating swashbuckling finale leaving everyone at the interval slightly shell-shocked and awestruck.
The second set began where the first left off with the world premiere of Hours Miles. If anything, this piece was a little bit less fragmented then the previous number and the band really seemed to hit the groove from the start and just kept it going and going. It is perhaps unfair to single anybody out, such was the quality of the entire ensemble, but there was one particular saxophone solo from Ollie Dover which blew me away. To see and hear someone really go with such glorious abandon was both memorable and exciting.
This was certainly a magnificent start to the new ACV era. All members seemed be in such harmony with one another you would have thought the whole band had played together for years. On exiting the Black Swan I joined a couple of people who were discussing the gig; we unanimously agreed what a great night it was although hard to categorise. Independently two of us came up with a single word description which perfectly summed up the evening – Exhilarating!
Steve.

2 comments :

Paul Bream said...

Exhilarating is absolutely the right word, although I could add plenty of others, such as 'magnificent' and 'stunning'.
The first incarnation of ACV was a tremendous band playing some great tunes, but this gig with the new line-up marked a huge step forward, with the long-form pieces - composed and improvised sections sliding seamlessly into each other - demonstrating just how deeply Andy has thought about his music and how the structural skills in his writing have progressed. But he hasn't abandoned his past - the "invigorating swashbuckling finale" to the first set was in fact the theme from 'A Line Made By Walking', the opening track from the first ACV album, so there is real continuity in there as well.
Of course it's complex music (although handled with relaxed panache by the A-list team Andy has now assembled), and Steve is right in his review to say that it took a while for the audience to "get into" what was happening, but the best art doesn't throw up obvious signposts and never fully reveals itself at first acquaintance. So I really look forward to hearing this again . . . by which time I would expect it to be vaguely familiar yet gloriously fresh!

Richard Waddington said...

Great night, thoroughly enjoyed. Loved the first line-up too.

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