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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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

17641 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 915 of them this year alone and, so far, 60 this month (Dec. 26).

From This Moment On ...

December

Sat 28: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 11:30am. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 28: Fri 20: Castillo Nuevo @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy, Rich Herdman & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 28: Ray Stubbs R & B All-Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Stepney Bank, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sun 29: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 29: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.

Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington (National Trust), Cambo, Morpeth NE61 4AR. 12 noon & 2:00pm. Admission to site £19.00.
Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Archie Brown & Friends @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00-8:00pm. Free.

January 2025

Wed 01: ???

Thu 02: ???

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: John Gregory @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar.

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

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Drums? Bass? - who needs them? Saxophonics and the Loco Guitar Trio - Splinter @ the Bridge.

Saxophonics: Keith Robinson (alt), Steve Summers (alt/ten), Graeme Wilson (ten), Niall Armstrong (bar).
Loco Guitar Trio: Dan Byrne-McCullough, Jordie Cooke, Pawel Jedrzejewski (gtrs).
After the previous powerhouse gigs from Extreme Measures, Claude Werner et al the punters could perhaps be excused for thinking that an all acoustic evening sans bass and drums would pale by comparision.
They were wrong - boy were they wrong!
I've heard Saxophonics several time but tonight was the first time they totally blew me away. The harmonies, the solos, the arrangements - mainly by Graeme - but also by Lennie Niehaus (an amazing Ain't Misbehavin'), Ralph Towner and Michael Moore - were complex yet accessible. I've never heard such precise playing since The 29th Street Saxophone Quartet played Newcastle Jazz Festival back in the 1980s and maybe not even then. From the opening Come Fly With Me via (the penultimate?) Wee Small Hours of the Morning/Autumn in New York to the demanded encore we were transfixed by the technique of the players and the resulting blend of sound and solo.
Not that this was a one-way street. Earlier, the Loco Jazz Trio had set a very high benchmark.
The three young men, perhaps slightly nervous at first, played a set - comparable in its own way with that which was to follow - drawing an enthusiastic response all-round.
Opening with a version of Take The A Train that had a distinct Hot Club feel about it they kept the listeners enthralled as they progressed through standards such as Body and Soul, a familiar Martin Taylor tune from some TV advert, Bjork's Oh So Quiet and a Bob Marley tune the title of which I missed. All three played good solos in a set that was a joy to hear.
Their future and the future of jazz is in safe hands.
To follow this, next week we have AVC. Another super session in store - don't miss it.
Lance.

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