Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

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: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest TBC.
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

CD Review: Kevin Coehlo - Turn It Up.

Kevin Coelho (Hammond B3); Derek DiCenzo (gtr); Reggie Jackson (dms).
(Review by Lance)
It's rare for an 18 year old to have his second CD reviewed in as many years on Bebop Spoken Here but, then again, there aren't that many teenagers who can pedal a B3 like this young man does. His début album Funkengruven--the Art of Driving a B3 was a knock-out and, given that he's had another 2 years to absorb the pearls of wisdom from his mentor Tony Monaco, this one is, not surprisingly, a worthy follow-up.
Back in the '50s and '60s every other record seemed to be by someone from the Hammond stable. Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGrith, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Don Patterson and of course Jimmy Smith. Over here, Mike Carr and Alan Haven kept up the pressure. Latterly, in the States, Joey De Francesco keeps the flame burning and, in the UK, Ross Stanley lights a few fires as do local boys Paul Moran and Gerry Richardson.
Coehlo is up there and it wouldn't surprise me to see him chasing De Francesco in the next Down Beat poll!
Turn It Up is aptly titled! It's a disc to be turned up! In a bar or a party this disc would have the room dancing and drinking and having a good time - that's what music like this is all about. I don't recommend it for the car stereo as the blurb suggests - you'd be outside the speed limit before you reached the corner and probably taken a couple of traffic wardens out on the way!
The material is mint! Jimmy Smith's Root Down, Prince's Soft and Wet, Lennon and McCartney's Come Together - those last two titles! War's The World is a Ghetto. There's a couple of versions of the latter as there is of When Johnny Comes Marching Home.Don't mock y'all, WJCMH is one of the best grooves on the album!
Finally, Georgia on my Mind provides the laid back mood that you need at a party from time to time. I think Hoagy would have liked this one, in fact you can almost hear his laconic vocal above it all.
DiCenzo and Jackson are, once again, the perfect team. The guitar solos are just so right for what Coehlo lays down and in Jackson he's got the most sympathetic ear he'll ever find for this set-up.
If you're into B3 this is for you. If you're not, or rather thought you weren't, it's still for you - because you will be - trust me!
The downside? Kevin Coehlo puts bass players out of work!
I wonder if I can get these guys a gig at Hoochie - it's only a few thousand miles away?
The Cd Kevin Coehlo - Turn It Up. is available on Chicken Coup CCP7018.
Lance.

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