Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18878 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 742 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 4.) 21.

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

September.

Tue 08: Seijiro Murayama & Jean-Luc Guionnet @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Warwick St., Newcastle, NE2 1BB. 7.00pm. £10.00 (advance); £12.00 (on door); £.15.00 (solidarity).
Tue 08: SH#RP Collective @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 08: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: 58 Jazz Collective @ Hartlepool Cricket Club. 7:30pm. £7.00.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE. Excellent trio.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Jacenaite All Crew @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 10: Emma Rawicz INKYRA @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.30. Sage Two. Line-up: Emma Rawicz (sax); Scottie Thompson (piano, keyboards, synth); David Preston (guitar); Kevin Glasgow (bass guitar); Jack Thomas (drums).

Fri 11: Esther Bennett @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £10.00. Esther Bennett (vocals); Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass).
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: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £14.09 (inc. bf).

Sat 12: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 12: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £16.26 (inc. bf).

Sun 13: 58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00-3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: King Bees @ Shape Patisserie, Darlington. 3:00pm. Free. Duo (Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor). A Rhythm & Blues Fringe event. Blues excellence.
Sun 13: Alligator Gumbo @ The Cluny. 5:00pm. £17.15.; £11.43; £5.72.
Sun 13: Eternal Triangle + Andy Champion @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 14: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

CD Review - Graham Dechter: Takin' it There.

Graham Dechter (gtr); Tamir Hendelman (pno); John Clayton (bs); Jeff Hamilton (dms).
(Review by Lance.)
A must for guitar buffs! Graham Dechter, a young guitarist from Los Angeles, lives up to his hype as being poised and polished, suave and swinging - he is all these things and more. Both Dechter and pianist Hendelman paid their dues in the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and it is fitting that the co-leaders of that orchestra complete the quartet here.

Wes Montgomery's Road Song, Barney Kessel's Be Deedle De Do reveal Dechter to be able to groove with the best and yet retain his own personality. Listen to the lyricism of Jobim's Chega De Saudate, a magical experience! The angular lines flow with the ease of a season pro and yet this is only his second album.
Dechter's original, Together and Apart, is a reflective even melancholic piece - underpinned as it is by soulful arco bass from Clayton - that seems to gradually emerge like a Night-Blooming Jasmine blossoming in the shades of evening before slowly returning to whence it came from.
It's back in the groove for Takin' it There with some driving piano from Hendelman who is a force to be reckoned with on this disc. Hamilton has an impressive drum work out on this one. YouTube.
George Coleman's Father is another lyrical piece that seems tailor-made for Dechter who sails throw the changes effortlessly - I say "Effortlessly" but think of the hours of practice he must have put in to get to this level! Likewise Hendelman whose solo is also on the money.
I'm running out of superlatives, it's that kind of disc, suffice to say John Clayton's Grease For Graham keeps the momentum going with some down home blues, Lee Morgan's Hocus Pocus - full of bop licks that have never dated and kick-ass drumming from Hamilton - Come Rain or Come Shine, Harold Arlen was possibly the most blues orientated of the American composers and Dechter gets to the heart of the tune and finds harmonic depths the composer himself probably didn't dream existed!
To conclude, an original by Dechter, Amanda, and Cole Porter's Every Time we Say Goodbye (End of a Love Affair's in there too).
An emotional ending to a lovely disc.
Lance.
CD Review - Graham Dechter: Takin' it There. Available from Amazon Sept. 18.
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