Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey (to Terence Blanchard): ''You ain't Miles find your own shit to do!'' (DownBeat May, 2026)

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

18548 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 412 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 19) 66

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

From This Moment On

May

Mon 25: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 26: Noel Dennis Sextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00. A Miles Davis centenary concert (Davis b. 26. 5. 1926). Noel Dennis (trumpet); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums). SOLD OUT!
Tue 26: Lagos to Longbenton @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 27: Neighbourhood Watch + Rivkala @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00. Rivkala (solo).

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Miles Davis & His Favourite Musicians.
Thu 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 28: Bobby Rush @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. + bf. Veteran USA bluesman.
Thu 28: Squabble @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 28: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.

Sat 30: Giles Strong Quartet @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £1.50 bf.

Sun 31: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 31: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 31: Sinfonia of London: Tea Dance @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm. Free. John Wilson ensemble performing on the concourse. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin & more.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 31: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 31: Ben Haskins Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00.

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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