The popular Monday night sessions run by NEJC at The Side Café, Newcastle return this Monday (1 Sept) with a session by the Paul Edis Sextet; a band containing many of the local big hitters in the form of Noel Dennis (tpt), (tmb), Graeme Wilson (ten), Paul Edis (pno), Mick Shoulder (bs) and Adam Sinclair (dms).
Doors open 8.00PM for 8.30 down beat.
Six GBP or 4GBP (concess.)
For the last twelve years we've been updating the world about jazz in the north east of England and updating the north east of England about jazz in the world. WINNER of the Jazz Media Category in the 2018 Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Contact lanceliddle@gmail.com
Bebop Spoken There
Clare Teal: "If you're brought up in a working-class family, you haven't got money for records so everything you get hold of, you treasure, learn to love, and I loved those Ella tapes." - (Radio Times 23-29 January 2021)

The Things They Say!
Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.
Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

Postage
12,399 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 12 years ago. 118 of them this year alone and, so far, 118 this month (Jan. 25).

Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Chet Baker; Singer or Trumpet player?
Back in the 1950s Chet Baker gave a concert at, I think, the Festival Hall. Because of an MU ruling he wasn't allowed to play trumpet but could only sing. The consensus at the time was that, in today's terms, going to hear Chet sing was a bit like going to watch Wayne Rooney play cricket.
However, I've just been listening to Chet singing "Let's Get Lost" and it made me wonder if he would be remembered, not for his lyrical trumpet playing, but for his cool, laid back singing.
What do you think?
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Taking It To The Extreme At The Chilli

Dave Weisser did a superb vocal on "Willow Weep for Me" and a strange one earlier that had a distinct Hindu feel to it - possibly not intentional. Eric Stutt, still nursing his damaged ribs, Barry Ashcroft and Mike Clarke (wrong! it was Jim Crinson on bass - see comments) completed the line up.
Spread the word. The lows are never too low and the highs are sometimes stratospheric.
All for a pound.
R.I.P Bob Florence
Bob Florence, who died on 15 May, was well known in The States both as a pianist and an arranger. He worked in and out of the jazz world moving easily from artists such as Buddy Rich and Frank Sinatra to Julie Andrews and Vicki Carr.
My knowledge of Bob Florence is limited to a splendidly titled album - "Trash Can City". It is as good a contemporary big band record as you're likely to encounter; not least for the track titled "The Bebop Treasure Chest" which manages to incorporate around 16 fragments of various bop themes into one magnificent whole. Another track, "Jewels," has Julie Andrews doing a wordless vocal in the manner of Ellington's "Creole Love Call" that is very effective. Others on the 1986 date include Lanny Morgan (alto), Bob Cooper (ten) and Bob Efford (bar).
For a more detailed obituary see Steve Voce's piece in Monday's Independent newspaper.
He was 76.
Once again I am indebted to Russell of JNE for drawing his death to my attention. Perhaps Russell was an undertaker in a previous existence.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Slim Gaillard on Norman Granz

As can be seen from the photo he was not without a sartorial presence.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
The Story of the Hagstrom James L D'Aquisto Guitar (By Ron Chapman)


It turned out that the shop had been owned by the Swedish Hagstrom company who had sold it some 18 years before, however a guy in the shop had worked for the Swedish company and knew quite a lot about the guitar manufacturing and indeed the history of the demise of the factory but best of all he gave me the telephone number of Karl E. Hagström.
After two hours of more frustration through wrong area code, one wrong digit in the number, language problems and so on I managed to get Mr Hagström on the telephone and here is some of the history and the background to the James L. D'Aquisto Guitar put together with a lot of help from Karl E. Hagström who was the final owner of the Hagstrom factory.
The Hagstrom factory is now a museum, it is situated in Älvdalen which is about a four hour drive north east of Oslo. Älvdalen which means River Valley in English, lies in a densely wooded part of Sweden with many lakes and rivers. The Hagstrom company was a big name in the Scandinavian music business and from 1945 to 1983 they built up a chain of 48 music stores throughout Norway, Denmark and Sweden.
The Hagstrom guitar factory started producing guitars in 1958 with production figures of electric guitars reaching several thousands by 1961 and a total production including electric bass guitars of 128,538 before ceasing production in 1983. James L. D'Aquisto was of great interest to me, I knew little of him other than he had been an apprentice to John D'Angelico in New York and I knew that Jimmy D'Aquisto was credited with a great deal of the work involved in the building of these guitars. I also knew that D'Angelico guitars had been sold to millionaire collectors in America and Japan for up to $100,000.00.
I was particularly interested in the Hagstrom James L. D'Aquisto model, nicknamed the "Jimmy", and how a very famous American guitar maker had come to design such a guitar for a Swedish company. Karl E. Hagström had met Jimmy D'Aquisto through Unicord, a Gulf & Western Company who were distributors for Hagstrom in the United States, he also visited him in New York and at his shop on Long Island.
James L. D'Aquisto first went to Sweden in about 1968 when he was 32 years old. That was four years after the death of John D'Angelico. At that time he was designing a guitar for a company called Bjarton, the company were situated in a town called Bjarnum near Malmö in the south of Sweden. He spent some time designing a guitar to be produced by them out of solid spruce. Three guitars were in the process of being built but only one was completed, this was actually hand carved by Jimmy D'Aquisto. However, the factory closed down before any production was completed.
The Hagstrom museum have that one and only completed guitar. Jimmy D'Aquisto returned to Sweden in June 1975 and spent about a month at the Hagstrom factory in Älvdalen in Sweden, supervising the production of the "Jimmy" which he had designed. Apparently it took a great deal of money to manufacture the jigs and to have the necessary tooling at hand before production started a year or so later.
Jimmy D'Aquisto describes the guitar as follows; "I designed this guitar with the professional guitarist in mind, it is a functional, quality instrument designed to serve the needs of the knowledgeable, discriminating musician. The size of the guitar is designed to rest comfortably in the hands of the musician enabling him to play for hours on end without fatigue. The ebony fingerboard and bridge enhance the tonal quality of the instrument and promote a clear sustaining quality. This guitar is constructed in Sweden by craftsmen who take pride in their work". Signed James L. D'Aquisto".
He goes on to give the technical details of the guitar which was available in F-hole and oval hole. Body. Venetian cutaway design, laminated birch arched top, back and sides. body length 20" width 15.3/4". Depth 2. 3/4" . 20 frets 243/4" scale length. Karl E. Hagström describes Jimmy D'Aquisto as a soft spoken man, full of humor a very good designer and craftsman and also a very good guitarist, sadly missed. He obviously liked what he had designed for Hagstrom as he purchased 50 of the raw unfinished bodies and guitar necks from Hagstrom to use in the building of his own D'Aquisto guitars when he returned to New York, Unfortunately the guitar necks which had a revolutionary truss rod design developed by the Saab Aircraft Company aeronautical designers were stolen before he got the chance to use them.
The Hagstrom Jimmy bodies from Sweden were eventually used in the manufacture of some of his less expensive guitars and that's the reason some of the D'Aquisto guitars have laminated bodies.
For me the really interesting facts about the Hagstrom "Jimmy" is that a total of only 1083 were ever produced, there were 727 of the F- hole model and 356 of the oval hole model , of these 56 of the F-hole and 23 of the oval hole Jimmy models were imported into England during 77/78 by Fletcher Copock & Newman, a total of only 79 of this instrument. Of the remainder of the production between 1976/79, 80% of the Jimmy's were exported to the USA and sold by the Ampeg/Selmer Company and the remaining 20% were sold and exported to Stage Sound In Australia, Canada Austria, Italy, Norway, Finland, Holland and Belgium.
Out of the 56 of the"F"hole guitars that came to England I have owned three. I bought the first F-hole in a cherry sunburst in 1990 for £385 ($620) - I foolishly sold it to the guitarist from a German Jazz band called the "Hot House Jazzmen" for £1,000 ($1,600). I thought at the time "no problem" I'll find a replacement. I had no idea at that time that the guitars were so rare in England. I had no luck in finding myself a replacement until November 1997 when I came across the oval hole model, natural finish, near mint condition "Jimmy" in Hanks music store in Denmark Street, London. The appearance of oval hole Jimmy is not unlike one of the Koonz archtops or the Bennedetto played by Howard Alden. It cost me £925 ($1,500). Only 4 weeks later at a guitar show in Newcastle upon Tyne I found an "F" hole model, cherry red sunburst in good condition £1,250 ($2,000). I recently I exchanged the oval hole model for another "F" hole model in absolute mint condition, so I now have only the two "F" hole models which I prefer. They produce a fat warm jazz tone which I would compare to the sound of Johnny Smith who has been the major influence in my music,. It can also sound very like the mellow sound of Jim Hall's guitar.
I had read Bob Benedetto's article in the premier issue of Just Jazz Guitar magazine where he wrote at length about the benefit of the Ebony tail piece and the Benedetto pick ups for jazz guitars. I was interested in his remarks that if D'Angelico and D'Aquisto had lived longer they would have continued the evolution of the guitars by eliminating unnecessary mass from the instruments including heavy metal tailpieces which are acoustically detrimental to he tone of the guitar. I remembered that article and of course wondered if my oval hole guitar could be improved by a Benedetto pick up and ebony tailpiece. After a telephone conversation with Bob Benedetto regarding the suitability of my instrument for improvement I took delivery in January of the ebony tail piece and the S-6 suspended mini humbucker. The fitting of the tailpiece and Beneddetto pick up by our own well known local luthier Les Tones immediately altered and improved the tone of the instrument. Consequently I have fitted ebony tail pieces to the F-hole guitars and I am delighted at the improvement. The relatively low prices of the Jimmy may give a false impression of the instruments, but Jimmy D'Aquisto certainly put his best into their design. I have worked in a guitar shop and have played guitar on and off for 45 years. I have owned or played many of the Gibson, Guild, Gretsch, Hofner, Framus, Levin and Fender models but when you buy a Hagstrom Jimmy you are getting the closest thing to a James L D'Aquisto electric acoustic for a price that is next to nothing.
The Hagstrom Jimmy is exceptional, certainly not a "hand made" guitar and not yet a collectable guitar the sound of the instrument proves that Jimmy D'Aquisto's knowledge about guitar design and construction could be incorporated into a relatively inexpensive instrument. Giving a tonal quality normally found only in the more expensive custom made guitars.From the information that I have there are about 763 of the James,L,D'Aquisto designed Hagstroms somewhere in the USA. and a further 241 world wide.
Ron Chapman.

No Jazz At St Nicks
Contrary to rumour, there won't be any jazz performed at Newcastle's St Nicholas Cathedral on Bank Holiday Monday, 25 August.
The curator informed me that he did not know where the information had originated but it certainly wasn't from the cathedral.
However, it is written in tablets of stone (actually a leaflet of forthcoming events from the Dioscese of Northumberland) that that well known band of sinners, The River City Jazzmen, will be preachin' the blues at St Mary's Church, Stannington, on 11 October.
NYJO
NYJO, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, have not only provided the launching pad for a large number of young British jazz musicians but they have also added another dimension to big band music; humour!
Their version of "Don't Dilly Dally On The Way" is the (intentionally) funniest track I have heard in years; a feat achieved without any musical compromise (well not much). Its from their "London Pride" album.
The same album includes "A Nightingale SWANG in Berkeley Square."
Bird and Diz recorded tunes such as "Anthropology" and "Ornithology" based on the chords of "I Got Rhythm" and "How High The Moon" respectively. NYJO had a bop arrangement called "Gynaecology" based on, wait for it, "Thou Swell"!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Zoe Gilby Sextet at Blaydon Jazz Club

A big blast on "Night in Tunisia" contrasted with tender readings of "Round Midnight", "Angel Eyes", "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and "Darn That Dream" done with a Latin feel.
Zoe's men, Noel Dennis (tpt), Mark Williams (gtr), Andy Champion (bs), Paul Edis (pno) and of course David Carnegie (dms), were all on top of their game and the feelgood atmosphere was personified when a couple tripped the light fantastic during the final "Just Squeeze Me."
More photos
Lee Young R.I.P
I had no idea that Lester Young's brother, Lee Young, was still alive, well of course he isn't now, but he did reach 94 which is a fair old innings for a jazzman of his era.
I never heard Lee live but I remember him from the early JATP records and with the King Cole Trio.
He died 31 July 2008 Los Angeles.
A more detailed obituary by Steve Voce appeared in Tuesday's "Independent" and I'm indebted to Russell of Jazz North East for drawing it to my attention.
The Blofield Experiment

There are also some good YouTube clips of the band on the site which is very much worth a visit if you want to hear some genuinely original material.
Laurence also sent a link to David Carnegie's Extreme Measures which seems to be different to the one we already have.
Thanks Laurence for these links and the kind words you said about Bebop Spoken Here. Feel free to add your comments any time.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Alan Glen at the Chillingham

"I Fall In Love Too Easily" began with an out of tempo, complexly chorded intro leading into a relaxed interpretation of one of Sammy Cahn's (I think) finest. Alan brought a new dimension to "Love Letters" shedding the tune's maudlin sentimentality in favour of a faster no frills attached version.
And so it continued with what was perhaps his best set there yet. An hour flew by in what seemed like minutes. I can't remember the name of the final number; a familiar jazz standard that moved more than somewhat.
There are a lot of good piano men around at the moment but Alan can walk as tall as any of them. David Carnegie, on drums, soloed in his usual dynamic manner on the final number and Lawrence Blackadder, bass, completed the line-up. Lawrence had some nice melodic lines going on "How About You."
These are "Three Sounds,"and I use the words advisedly, that deserve a wider audience.
Prior to the trio's set, Dave Weisser, missing last week, returned, still with the ambience of Paris about him, to lead his Take It To The Bridge crew through their idea of the Horace Silver song book with good solos by Darren on tenor, Barry, piano, and Mike Clarke, bass. On drums, Eric Stutt played with cracked ribs - Dave's jokes aren't that funny - he tripped over a gig bag. A hero above and beyond the call of nature.
The jam session this week saw Daniel and a young cat, called Felix on guitars, David C on piano giving his impression of Cecil Monk or should it be Thelonious Taylor? and Dave vocalising on "East of the Sun".
A splendid quidsworth.
More photos on Take It To The Bridge Album.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tyne Valley Stomping at Saltwell Park

(More photos in "Jazz Today" album.)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Keith Armstrong Book Launch
NEWCASTLE CITY LIBRARIES & THE WORKERS' EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION
PRESENT:
COMMON WORDS AND THE WANDERING STAR - BOOK LAUNCH
BEWICK HALL, NEWCASTLE CENTRAL LIBRARY
SATURDAY OCTOBER 17TH
BOOK LAUNCH 10.30am to 5pm
10.30am 'From Heaton to Newport Pagnell - in search of Jack' - talk by Heaton born Dr Keith Armstrong, author of 'Common Words and the Wandering Star'
11.15am Short tribute by Jack Common's son, Peter
11.30am Discussion
12.30pm Lunch
2pm Films - 'Tyneside Story' - film by Jack Common; 'Common's Luck' - B.B.C. TV biography of Jack Common, introduced by its Director, John Mapplebeck of Bewick Films
3pm Dr Keith Armstrong & Peter Common - short readings from the new book, including poetry
3.45 - 4.45pm Musical celebration with Jez Lowe, songwriter of 'Jack Common's Anthem', & Tyneside folk group 'Kiddar's Luck'
ADMISSION FREE
Contact: Kath Cassidy, Newcastle Libraries tel 0191 2774155
------------------------------
UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION PRESENTS:
COMMON WORDS AND THE WANDERING STAR - BOOK LAUNCH
WEDNESDAY 21ST OCTOBER 6-8PM
Room ED 134, School of Education, Leazes Road, Durham
Talk and reading by the author Dr Keith Armstrong
Introductions by Professor Bill Williamson and Professor Mike Fleming
Admisssion free Refreshments
Contact: Michelle Wilkinson, School of Education tel 0191 3348310
Jack Common was born in Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne in 1903. His father worked at the locomotive works close to the family house in Heaton. He attended Chillingham Road Council School, where he excelled at essay writing, but left at fourteen to attend commercial college and to work in a solicitor's office. Years of indifferent jobs and unemployment led him to move to London in 1928, partly to foster his political convictions and also to escape unemployment in the north. In 1930 he commenced work as a circulation promoter on The Adelphi, a socialist journal edited by John Middleton Murry, Richard Rees and Max Plowman. He was soon employed as assistant editor and took over editorship for a period in the 1930's. Common was a contributor to The Adelphi and other journals such as New Britain, The Aryan Path and The New Statesman and Nation, but it was The Adelphi which occupied most of his time during the thirties; writing political and social articles, book reviews, a column called "The Sweeper Up" and helping to shape policy and direction by working with the three editors. George Orwell was another contributor to the journal and it was through their working relationship on the journal that they formed a close friendship.
In 1939 The Adelphi was put out of print and Common sought work as a film script writer and editor for government documentary films and lived in Langham, Essex at the Adelphi Centre, a community set up in 1936. After the war he found more film work with Rank Studios as a script advisor and reporter on suitability of novels as film subjects. He also worked as a freelance for the Associated British Picture Corporation during the 1950s and 1960s, again writing and editing scripts. In terms of his published work there are two phases to his work, the political and socially conscious essays of the 1930s and the fictional work of the 1950s, which reflect the work he was undertaking at these times. In 1938 he published Seven Shifts, a collection of seven working men's tales of work which Common edited and introduced. In the same year he published a book of social and political essays The Freedom of the Streets. Kiddar's Luck, the fictionalised autobiography of Jack Common's life up to the age of fourteen, published in 1951, was written under conditions of great hardship. Whilst writing the book he worked as a labourer during the day and wrote and edited film scripts in the evening, using the weekends to write his novel. He was under similar financial pressure when writing The Ampersand, a further autobiographical novel, in 1953-4; despite the favourable reviews given to Kiddar's Luck, the publishers became bankrupt, leaving him without a publisher to market the books and ensuring that the book was not the financial success it should have been. He also produced many articles for contemporary journals and magazines.
He died in 1968 before he could complete his third novel.
-----
N.B. Posted 15/8/2009.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Music To Sooth The Savaged Breast
As a matter of totally limited interest I thought I'd mention, in no particular order, a few CD's that I've begged, bought, borrowed or burgled of late.
*****
Stan Getz/Jimmy Rowles "The Peacocks" Dave Weisser introduced me to this wonderful disc and if he never does me a favour again, with this, he has done enough. Getz is at his most lyrical on 13 of the 18 tracks with Ellington's "What Am I Here For?" particularly outstanding. Rowles' piano playing shows just what an underrated musician he is whilst his vocal on the opening "I'll Never Be The Same" sends shivers up the spine. On the tracks without Getz, George Mraz is on bass and the duo score on another Ellington piece, "Black Butterfly".
*****
Marty Grosz and his Hot Combination. I bought this during a wonderful concert Marty and Ken Peplowski gave at the Saville Exchange, North Shields. The place wasn't full yet, quality wise they should have filled O2 ten times over - it was that kind of a night. The CD is a good representation of the gig; even down to Marty's monologues.
*****
Michiko Ogawa Trio. "It's All About Love". I've mentioned this CD in an earlier posting so I'll refrain from repeating myself except to say that Michiko is a very talented Japanese lady who plays the piano rather well. She also sings and arranges. Harry Allen blows fine tenor on all of the tracks including the rarely heard verse to "Body and Soul".
*****
Andy Hamilton & The Blue Notes. "Silvershine". I must confess that I'd never heard of Andy Hamilton until I stumbled across this item and got knocked sideways.
Now based in the midlands, West Indian born Andy wrote the title track in 1947 for no less a person than legendary actor Errol Flynn. Although the record has Andy Sheppard, Jean Toussaint and David Murray among the personnel as well as Mick Hucknell singing "You Are Too Beautiful" it is Andy Hamilton who (silver) shines the brightest.
This is the real deal.
I believe Andy Hamilton picked up an OBE in one of the recent honours lists; something the media manged to bypass.
*****
Ruth Lambert. "So Many Stars". I'm not being parochial or partisan in mentioning this or the next two discs. All three can hold their own in any company. I love the light, almost casual way, Ruth throws away the lyric of "I've Got The World On A String" then goes into deep melancholy mood for a "Black Coffee" that I'm sure Peggy Lee would have approved of.
*****
Zoe Gilby. "Now That I Am Real". I think Peggy would like this disc as well. I'm always knocked out by "If I Only Had A Brain" (No - not wishful thinking on my part!) and Zoe does it as good as anyone. "Ode To Billy Joe" I loved the first time around and I like it even better slightly faster and funkier as she does it here.
*****
Paul Edis Trio with Vasilis Xenopoulos "Live At The Side". One of the best of the sessions at the Side Cafe to date. Vasilis Xenopoulos is just about as lyrical a tenor player as you could wish for, albeit not without the occasional cutting edge, whilst the Edis Trio of Paul on piano, Mick Shoulder (bass) and Adrian Sinclair (drums) give fine support with Paul's solos challenging Vasy's in their intensity.
*****
As a matter of interest, Ruth, Zoe, Paul and Vasilis are all lined up to appear at Blaydon Jazz Club between now and Xmas with Zoe playing there next Thursday (Paul's on piano).
Don't miss it even if you have to hop a freight to get there.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Stacey Kent at the Gala Theatre Durham

Blossom Dearie
John T tells me that one of the first modern LP's he bought was "Blossom Dearie Live At Ronnie Scott's". John then points out that on Blossom's "My Space" site her age is given as 104!
(She was actually born in 1928).
I recall seeing her at Newcastle in, I think, the 1970s. An excellent performer.
"They Say It's Spring," a wonderful song of hers recently played on Swiss Radio Jazz, has also been recorded to advantage by tenorman Harry Allen with Tommy Flanagan on piano."
That's what I love about jazz and the GASB there are still so many tunes to discover even after all these years.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Swinging in the Rain

Clark Terry was nowhere to be seen.
Swing Bridge, led by pianist Dick Straughan, had a daunting task. An audience who could only relate to ‘hip’ as in replacement and an unfortunate choice of name for a gig in Sunderland. Throw the aforementioned weather into the mix and you’ve got the picture. Nevertheless, jazz musicians are nothing if not thick skinned and they combined to get a good sound.
Malcolm Railton on trumpet and his daughter Rebecca, whose tenor playing sounded almost Getzian at times, blew well on the opening “Shiny Stockings” and the pleasantly surprising choice that followed, “Yardbird Suite.” The rhythm section of Dick, Ian and Stevie Doyle (dms) all had good solos and most of the audience put up with the showers at least until the interval.
Look forward to hearing them again; preferably somewhere where there is a roof.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Bird evicted From Treehouse
The word on the lips of the breeze is that live music is to cease at Alnwick's Treehouse Restaurant once existing contracts have been honoured. The venue, a regular weekly jazz gig for duos, is the latest victim of a cost cutting exercise across the board not just here but nationwide.
Whilst I do feel a pang of guilt at never having been to the Treehouse it also raises the question as to whether music and menus are compatible. Does the one enhance or detract from the other?
Friday, August 08, 2008
Gene Autrey Rides Again. Saville Exchange North Shields

Thursday, August 07, 2008
John Hallam with the Jeremy McMurray/Roly Veitch Quartet at Blaydon

John Hallam, not to be confused with the tuba player of the same name, blew like Benny on clarinet, Gerry on baritone whilst on tenor there were touches of Lester and Georgie Auld as well as a lot of John Hallam.
There really was magic abroad in the air during "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" not least because of the superb chorus by Jeremy McMurray on piano. Where are all these wonderful pianists coming from? With all due respects to Roland, Yamaha and co If only we could hear their talents to the full on a Steinway ...
Whether soloing or 'comping, Roly Veitch on guitar was, as ever, the epitome of taste. Paul Armstrong on bass had some nice duo moments with John and Bill Shields on drums, unobtrusive yet decisive, made it a grand night for swinging.
Bobby Durham R.I.P
Another one bites the dust. I never heard Bobby Durham live at least I don't think I did. Oscar Peterson played Newcastle City Hall many times sometimes with and sometimes without a drummer. When it was with, he usually used Ed Thigpen. However, Bobby Durham was well represented on record with Oscar and featured on many of the tracks on what was perhaps his finest group of recordings - the ones he called "Exclusively for My Friends."
Bobby Durham played on the track "Waltzing is Hip"; the first jazz waltz I ever heard that really swung and it was Bobby Durham's drumming that provided the impetus for Peterson's virtuoso performance.
A single paragraph in Down Beat announced that Bobby Durham died in Genoa from lung cancer on 7 July 2008 aged 71.
He deserved more.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Another Day at The Office for the Chillingham Herd

As ever, Eric Stutt kept it tight and Barry Ashcroft, as well as having some good solos also wrote a few of the 'charts'.
Sitters-in sat-out this week with only the ubiquitous David Carnegie (drums tonight) and a young guitarist, Tom, who showed no fear of following Mark. The boy did good.
Carol Kidd in Jarrow (on LP)
Browsing through some vinyl in a Jarrow charity shop I discovered, amid the acres of Jim Reeves and Val Doonican, a Carol Kidd LP "I'm Glad We Met". There was no good reason for me to fork out the modest 99p it cost as I already had it on tape but I prefer LPs to tapes (and quite often to CD) so buy it I did. It's a great disc with sympathetic backing by Dave Newton, Dave Green and the late Alan Ganley. They're all good tracks, especially Carol's version of "Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry" and Dave Newton's solo on "You're Awful" is anything but!
However, the reason I'm posting this is because it is signed by Carol - "Best wishes to Ian and Christine."
I'm curious to know who Ian and Christine are and why they dispensed with such a treasured item. I know they could have replaced it with a CD but that wouldn't have the autograph on. If they are out there I'd love to hear from them.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
MacJazz Says ...
It was the late 1940's and a new music had arrived from America, they called it Be-Bop ! An early purchase from my favourite record shop was the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Quintet playing ' Loverman ' Sara Vaughan supplied the vocal. Was I lucky to be around to hear this musical revolution ? You bet I was!
Lance says ... This posting actually turned up on 16 April this year but somehow or other got shuffled out of the system! Apologies to MacJazz and don't say 'Typical Sassenach!'
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Ornette Coleman says...
"Intelligence is a plot."
Mystic words from Ornette Coleman. I haven't a clue what they mean so if Ornette, or any other smart ass reads this, perhaps they will elaborate further.
I'm grateful to John Forster for drawing my attention to the above Colemanism. John is the bass player with the Eric Clapton tribute band Classic Clapton who are appearing at the Sage on 14 October.
Not exactly jazz I know but we are broadminded aren't we? and John and I did attend the same Borstalic institution.
If you're into old 'Slowhand' then this could be for you.
BBC Blues
If you are unhappy with the current lack of jazz broadcast on BBC Radio please click onto the link below and make your voice heard. Tell the BBC that you want their initials to represent Bix, Bird and Coltrane for at least a couple of hours a week in the form of "The Best of Jazz" being returned to the airwaves.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Radio-Jazz?e
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- Slim Gaillard on Norman Granz
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- Zoe Gilby Sextet at Blaydon Jazz Club
- Lee Young R.I.P
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- Keith Armstrong Book Launch
- Music To Sooth The Savaged Breast
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