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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

1803759 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 480 of them this year alone and, so far, 58 this month (June 18).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

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, May 24, 2011

Erin Dickins Interviewed - A Bebop Spoken Here Exclusive!


1: Great album and such a great mix of tunes - standards like Can’t We Be Friends - how did you know that is my favourite song! Who shared the vocal?
Songs come from all kinds of sources…..I just adore that song! I was doing a regular gig at a fantastic little Italian restaurant called Scossa, in my hometown. A member of the staff, my friend Greg Rohman, had a jazz mix up while we were loading in one night. I told him how much I liked his taste and he burned me a disc of that mix. Well, I first heard this song (done by Ella and Louis Armstrong) while I was in the car and I had to pull over. It just knocked me out!
From the first listen, I knew exactly whom I wanted for the duet – my producer, Jesse Frederick. Jesse and I have been great friends and singing partners for many years and we are totally inside each other’s heads. I knew the key would be perfect for him, so I took a big leap of faith and tracked it.  He kept saying, “No, you should get a well-known jazz-er to do it.”  So, I actually talked to Jon Hendricks about the solo. But before I took it to him up to New York, Jesse recorded a reference vocal of the male part so Jon could hear the duet. It was perfection. Jon loved the recording, but was doing some touring at the time, so we couldn’t get him in the studio soon enough to lay the vocal.  I was secretly glad, because I really, really wanted Jesse to sing it!  And guess what? Jesse’s original reference vocal, which he sang in one take, is the final that you hear on the CD. He is an absolutely amazing singer, and I am a very happy artist!! I would LOVE to have Jon on something soon, and I’ll work on that!
 2: Can I be honest and say I don’t recall you with Man Tran? I remember Janet and Laurel so maybe you were there before them? If that was the case, going by your photo today you must have been 6 years old!
Totally! I was young enough that my mother had to sign my deal with Capitol Records!!! I was a founder of the original group with Timmy, Pat Rosalia, and Marty Nelson. Laurel and I used to do a lot of studio work together back then and Janis and I were friends, but didn’t work too much together. They started in maybe 1973 I am thinking? I attribute all my years of clean living for my youthful looks and my great memory! LOL!
3: When you left MT did you pursue a solo career immediately or was it for family reasons (I know I could check all this out but nice to have it from you.)
No, I actually got into doing studio work. New York was the heart of the recording industry and there were amazing projects going on. I recorded with Jaco Pastorius, The Talking Heads, Yoko Ono, Leonard Cohen, Gregg Allman, Roberta Flack, and many, many others.
4: Do you work with a regular band or various musicians according to the gig?
All of the above.  In a perfect world, I’d like to have the same cats play all my gigs, but that only happens when touring. I play a lot with just solo piano - with an amazing musician named Stef Scaggiari. My favorite configuration is rhythm, three horns, accordion, synth for color and a couple of singers.
5: The band on the CD is just perfect and the songs - woo-hoo! Love the title track!  Who wrote that one?
The band on the CD is astounding. My feet never touched the ground during those tracking sessions! Rob Mounsey is singularly the most tuned-in pianist I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!! His feels and melodic sense are impeccable. David Finck, Francois Moutin and Ray Marchica were just over the top, too. Totally delicious.
Bobby Troup wrote the title tune, Nice Girls Don’t Stay for Breakfast, for his wife, Julie London, with co-writer Jerome Leshay. I can just picture her singing it. I love that sultry, velvet-y melody. And I love tunes with a hook and a little humor. Yep, great tune.
6.Did you have a particular artist who inspired you to go in the direction you have taken?
All of them!  It’s not so much an artist as the music itself that is my muse. When I hear a great melody or an amazing groove, I am hooked. Music owns me and I find it irresistible. It just fills every cell of my being with joy!
7: Do want to just add a few things here that may interest lovers of your/our kind of music in the UK?
Oh, gee. Well, I am into a ton of things. I adore animals and would have a hundred if I could! I love to cook and travel. And tennis….love to play  tennis. And I love writing. Writing is a very cool way to find out about yourself. Sometimes the things that come out of my mind are a total surprise to me! I spent much of my youth with horses - riding and hunting and showing. It taught me responsibility, forgiveness and compassion. I am a student of A Course in Miracles and I think that my life is filled with miracles everyday.
8: If you do come to Europe/UK let me know - I’ll be first in line!
Sign me up! I am looking for an agent in the UK and Europe? Any ideas?
Lance, is there a chance that you might review the CD on your site? Thank you so much for all the help and support you give to indie jazz artists, and for your very kind words to me! Hope to meet you in person very soon!
Peace and Pearls,
Erin
May 2011.
Lance.

3 comments :

Liz said...

another example of your encyclopedic music memory and interviewing skills..well done Lance, you bring your subjects to us in many ways, and none better than this.
Liz

Lance said...

Never mind my "interviewing skills" the main person here is Erin who I think is a really fine singer and who deserves wider recognition.
But thanks anyway Liz - I'm flattered.

Liz said...

to be honest Lance, I wasn't familiar with her singing. However I am familiar with your sterling work on this site, hence my praise for you rather than the lady. I shall now make a point of listening to Erin as you are seldom wrong in your judgement!
Liz

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