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Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, April 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

17957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 278 of them this year alone and, so far, 34 this month (April 14).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Tue 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

Sat 26: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 26: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Elvet Methodist Church, Durham. 7:30pm. Tickets: £12.00. + bf. Duo performance.
Sat 26: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.50.
Sat 26: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 27: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Paul Susans, Russ Morgan.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: JustKing Jones @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.50. JustKing Jones (alto sax, soprano sax); Jordan Williams (piano); Jason Clotter (bass); Malcolm Charles (drums). Ace NYC outfit!
Sun 27: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 27: Swing Manouche @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00. Tickets from 01665 711388.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Ken Marley, Russ Morgan.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

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

Saturday, July 13, 2013

CD Review: The Buck Clayton Legacy Band - Claytonia

Matthias Seuffert (clt/ten/co-leader); Alyn Shipton (bs/co-leader) Menno Daams/Ian Smith (tpt); Adrian Fry (tmb); Alan Barnes (alt/clt); Martin Litton (pno); Martin Wheatley (gtr); Norman Emberson (dms).
(Review by Lance)
When something like this drops through the letterbox amidst the plethora of boundary pushing CDs  that Joe the Postie usually brings from near and far it is like a cool breeze in a heatwave although Claytonia is neither cool nor hot. What it exudes is warmth.
All the arrangements are by the late Basie trumpet star Buck Clayton and bequeathed to bassist, BBC presenter and friend of Buck, Alyn Shipton. German reedman, and frequent visitor to the various Whitley Bay Jazz Parties and Festivals, Matthias Seuffert, adapted Clayton's charts for this ensemble . To further emphasise local connections, the CD was recorded live at the 2011 Gateshead International Jazz Festival at Sage Gateshead. For some reason I missed this in favour of Subway Moon in Hall One - boy did I call that one wrong! One who didn't get it wrong was Derrick Cogger - see his review as it happened. I even missed the broadcast that followed so this CD fills in a massive hole in my jazz listening life.
The music is beyond compare except perhaps by Clayton's own band but, as these compositions were never recorded, that is mere conjecture. What is certain is that few, if any, British bands have ever quite captured this sort of middle period swing. Humph and Kenny Baker probably came closest. Indeed the final track, Sir Humphrey, is dedicated to HL.
There are too many goodies to list. The trumpets do the great man justice, Fry slides around with the agility of Urbie Green and maybe just a suggestion of Vic Dickenson's wryness. Sueffert has the big sound associated with Bean, Chu or Frog. Man for all seasons Barnes is in a liquid, languid, mood stating the theme on a rather wonderful tune - I'll Make Believe - a tune I'd never heard before. Put words to it and the Gasbook would have been further enriched. A tremendous arrangement incorporating a snatch of Blue and Sentimental. Elsewhere Barnes incorporates his own phenomenal technique into some lines Benny Carter may have dreamed up.  Martins Wheatley and Litton slot into the rhythm section with ease and solo superbly. Shipton is not only an A list jazz broadcaster and author but he is also rock solid on bass. Emberson is that perfect drummer - a back seat driver.
Now I'm just going to play it again, and again and again, in case I've missed something.
As regards my CD of the year, at this point in time, all bets are off!
Lance.
Claytonia by the Buck Clayton Legacy Band is available on BCLB001
Checking it out on Amazon that amazoning site came up with Similar albums - Miles Davis: Bitches Brew! Trust me, they're further apart than Saatchi and Nigella!

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