Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,066 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 930 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 31) 109.

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

November

Sat 07: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 2/3.
Sat 07: Ewan Bleach’s Cable Street Ragtime Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington.
12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. Superb band.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Find Your Pocket: Funk & Groove. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Red Kites Jazz @ Costa Café, St James’ Retail Park, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sat 07: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 6:00pm.

Sun 08: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 3/3.
Sun 08: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 08: Kaberry Big Band @ Forest Hall Social Club. 3:00pm. £7.00 (inc. tea & cake). Charity event for the Poppy Appeal.
Sun 08: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Bechet-Spanier Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.; £5.00. Muggsy Spanier was born 125 years ago today (9 November 1901). This afternoon’s all-star quartet - from London, Lewis Taylor (cornet) & Michael McQuaid (reeds), from Paris, Félix Hunot (guitar), from London, Harry Evans (string bass) - salutes Muggsy!
Mon 09: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 09: Bechet-Spanier Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. Muggsy Spanier was born 125 years ago today (9 November 1901). This evening’s all-star quartet - from London, Lewis Taylor (cornet), from London, Michael McQuaid (reeds), from Paris, Félix Hunot (guitar), from London, Harry Evans (string bass) - salutes Muggsy!

Tue 10: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Becky Tuck (vocals).
Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 11: Plague Doctors Cure All + Noonward @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. JNE.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: JANE @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 12: MoonMot + Jack Banjo’s Snackwall @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 12: Ratio: Swingin’ Through the Decades @ The Forum, Darlington. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £10.00. A charity fundraiser.
Thu 12: Look Left @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Thu 12: Michael Woods @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Acoustic blues.

Fri 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Giles Strong (guitar); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 13: Lapwing Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Richard Herdman, Jude Murphy, Paula Whitty.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Hexham Lantern Parade, Bandstand, Sele, Hexham. 6:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Sharp Collective @ Dry Water Arts, Amble. 7:00pm.
Fri 13: East Coast Swing Band @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm.
Fri 13: Guisborough Big Band @ Saltburn Golf Club. 7:30pm. Tickets: £15.00 (inc. pie & peas

Monday, March 26, 2012

Gateshead International Jazz Festival Saturday March 24th Life Is for Living: The Peggy Lee Project Gwyneth Herbert and The Buck Clayton Legacy Band

Gwyneth Herbert (vcl); Alan Barnes, Matthias Seuffert (reeds); Menno Daams, Ian Smith (tpts); Adrian Fry (tmb); Martin Litton (pno); Martin Wheatley (gtr); Alyn Shipton (bs); Bobby Worth (dms) 
Photo courtesy of Sage, Gateshead.
The three tiers of Hall 2 were full for this very entertaining event which was suitable for all Peggy Lee fans, and others who like to hear popular songs, well sung. There was even a pre-concert talk, in which Gwyneth Herbert and bassist/broadcaster  Alyn Shipton, told us about the project, including a film clip of Peggy Lee with Judy Garland. The whole event was presided over by a large projected photograph of the good-looking lady herself, sitting with a pile of her own vinyl. I suspect Ms Lee would have been amused by all this.
Gwyneth Herbert was dressed for the occasion in a neat blue dress with white spots and trimmings (not as pictured), which was in the 1940’s style, so I’m told by Lance (fashion expert). During the talk, Ms Herbert had emphasised how Peggy Lee used to sing the lyrics to truly express the meaning, and yet managed to make the song her own. I think Ms Herbert also achieved this end, by celebrating the songs, without trying to sound like Peggy Lee herself.
The Buck Clayton Legacy Band kicked off with a stirring tune - The Bowery Bunch - then came The Black Sheep Blues, with effective solos from the rhythm section. Ms Herbert entered, doing a fast-paced Ridin’ High and an amusing I Lost My Sugar in Salt Lake City. Other songs included What’s New, (Originally recorded in 1956) with a well played trumpet solo; Peggy Lee’s first hit from the 1940’s, Why Don’t You Do Right?, which was a chance for Alan Barnes to recreate the Benny Goodman role. 
The songs were those from the 1940’s, 50’s and early 60’s. I would have loved to hear the classics that everyone knows, such as Till There Was You, and The Folks Who Live on the Hill, but those songs perhaps wouldn’t quite fit into the project's aims. We had Blues in the Night, and of course Fever, which is a hard act to follow, after Ms Lee’s version. Ms Herbert did well on the amusingly cynical cabaret type song Is That All There Is? a good version of Life is for Living, and the performance ended with an encore of It’s Been a Long, Long Time.
The band did their stuff really well, with many short solos during the instrumentals, especially on Sir Humphrey, A tune by Buck Clayton written in tribute to "Sir" Humphrey Lyttelton. The whole event was thoroughly enjoyable, and also educational for people interested in singing jazz.
Ann Alex.
(Photo by James Pfapp.)
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