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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 2025).

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

17945 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 266 of them this year alone and, so far, 22 this month (April 8).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.CANCELLED!
Thu 10: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. A Globe fundraiser (all proceeds to the venue).
Thu 10: Exhaust: Camila Nebbia/Kit Downes/Andrew Lisle @ Jesmond URC, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. JNE.
Thu 10: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Feat. guests Ray Dales & Jackie Summers.

Fri 11: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: John Rowland Trio: The Music of Ben Webster @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Rowland (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Fri 11: Imelda May @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 11: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:30-9:00pm. Free (donations).

Sat 12: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 12: Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra + House of the Black Gardenia + King Bees @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 6:30pm (doors). £18.00.
Sat 12: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. £12.00. Event includes swing dance taster session, DJ dance session. Bright Street Big Band on stage 7:30-8:15pm & 8:45-9:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 12: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Imelda May @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £42.20. SOLD OUT!
Sat 12: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 13: Daniel John Martin with Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 13: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 13: Hejira: A Celebration of Joni Mitchell @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £22.50.
Sun 13: Wilkinson/Edwards/Noble + Chojnacki @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20., £11.00. JNE.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Zoë Gilby Quintet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

JAZZ SINGING EASY - NO WAY!


Picture this – you go to a jazz gig and a singer gets behind the mike and coolly sings one of the jazz standards.  You think, ‘quite good’, I could do that, after all, I learnt most of those songs at my mother’s knee!
And that, dear blog readers, was what I thought, until I tried it.
The first shock I got was to find that I didn’t actually know the words or tune, at least not precisely enough to sing with a band.  We hear these songs every day on the radio but don’t notice the fine details until we see the music.  And before you can improvise you must know the ‘correct’ version.  For instance, try singing a line like ‘regretting instead of forgetting with somebody else’ (Love Me or Leave Me), at speed, with all the right notes, without your tongue falling out.
I’d been used to singing traditional folk songs in folk clubs for many years before deciding to learn jazz singing as well.  The main difference is that I sang unaccompanied, so didn’t have to consider the needs of musicians.  Bands tend to want to know which key you’re singing in (it helps!) and the speed of your song.  I hadn’t had to consider this before, I simply opened my mouth and interpreted the song, within my vocal range.
So I’m still learning the etiquette of how to consult with a band.  Which player do you consult, the keyboard?  Probably not the drummer.  How do you negotiate the instrumentals, do they already have a favoured arrangement?  Can you interfere with that?  I love the sound of saxophones, can I request a solo from the sax?  This is all before I’ve broken into song, and I have to remember that a chorus is the whole song, and not what it means in a folk song.
I hadn’t used a microphone much before, which is a skill in itself.  I had to get used to holding the mike close enough to be heard, and remember not to turn my head away, which defeats the whole point of the exercise.  I had to remember not to stroke the mike, as all the audience would hear would be crackles.  I’ve yet to try the intimate style of singing with the mike very close up.  Will this sound sexy or just plain silly?  I suspect the latter in my case.  I’m short of stature so all mikes are set too high for me – adjustments needed.
At last I’m ready to begin, if I’ve checked with the band when to actually start - after 8 bars, 1 chorus, or whatever. When the song goes well it’s like sitting in an armchair being relaxed yet alert.  I’ll not go into what it’s like when it’s not so good, it would be too much information.  Most songs deserve to be sung well as there’s some wonderful material out there.  What about the songs of Cole Porter, such as the wisdom of It’s Alright With Me, or the humour of I Get a Kick out of You, or the images in You’re The Top?  Such simple language is used to express complex ideas, so that everyone can enjoy the songs.  And whilst singing you have the band to listen to, in fact it’s essential to listen otherwise you’re in deep trouble.  Make sure you shut up for their instrumental bits, enjoy their improvisations, and your own.  And it helps if you both finish at the same time!
It just remains for you to thank the right people and receive applause graciously.  So I’d like to end this piece by thanking my friends in the Bluejazz Voices and the group leader Lindsay Hannon, where I’ve been learning all this, and also the Bluejazz Quintet, ‘our’ band, at the Sage. And also Lance and Russell of Bebop Spoken Here and Jazz North East for their encouragement.  They encouraged me, so if I sing badly, it’s those two to blame. (Only joking!)
Ann Alexander.

3 comments :

Unknown said...

Ann, I thought you were great. Keep at it. (says the guy with the big guitar)

Sarah said...

I am so definitely going to try this. Safety with numbers in a choir? Or let it all out solo (being Judy Garland in my head).

Ann said...

Hello Blue, Thanks for your kind comments. Keep on playing the big guitar that stands up!

Sarah, good for you, I may see you at the Jazz singing. Ann

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