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Bebop Spoken There

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Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

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Postage

17372 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 656 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (Sept. 17).

From This Moment On ...

September

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 19: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 19: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Kevin Eland, Dan Johnson, Jeremy McMurray, Ron Smith.

Fri 20: Lindsay Hannon’s Tom Waits for No Man @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 20: Rob Hall & Chick Lyall @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free (donations). SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Leeway @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. The Old Black Cat Jazz Club. CANCELLED!
Fri 20: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 21: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 1:00-2:45pm. Free.
Sat 21: Vieux Carré Hot Four @ The Beehive, Hartley Lane, Earsdon Whitley Bay NE25 0SZ. 4:30pm-6:30pm.
Sat 21: Baghdaddies @ Two by Two, Albion Row, Byker, Newcastle NE6 1RQ. 6:00pm.
Sat 21: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 21: Jude Murphy & Alan Law @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free.
Sun 22: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Richard Herdman @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 22: Remy CB Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:30pm. Free. Remi, 2024 Newcastle Uni graduate, superb soul/blues voice!

Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Paul Booth with the Paul Edis Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert! SOLD OUT!

Tue 24: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv. from Tully’s of Rothbury). Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 24: Sarah Gillespie @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £16.50. Duo performance with Chris Montague.

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: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Middlesbrough Theatre. 7:30pm.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

CD Review: Cecile McLorin Salvant – Woman Child

Cecile McLorin Salvant – vocals, piano (track 10); Aaron Diehl – piano; Rodney Whitaker – double bass; Herlin Riley – drums; James Chirillo – guitar, banjo.
(Review by Debra M.)
Cecile McLorin Salvant  first  made an impression in the jazz world  in 2010, when she unexpectedly won  the  Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. Her distinct musical identity was forged growing up in Miami with French & Haitian parents, and by the study of classical and baroque music as well as vocal jazz in Aix-en-Provence, where she began  performing with reed player Jean-Francois Bonnel.
The breadth of material in this début album reflects her interest in the entire canon of vocal jazz, as well as older vocal traditions. In the opening guitar duet St Louis Gal’,  recorded by Bessie Smith around 90 years ago, McLorin Salvant’s  rounded, warm and expressive voice makes an immediate impact. This is followed by the  exquisitely arranged ‘I Didn't Know What Time It Was’,  where the  melodic  vocal  is  supported sparingly by rhythmic  brushes  & piano stabs, and a swinging ensemble, including a fine double bass solo by Rodney Whitaker. 
‘Nobody’, a  song  about discrimination, associated with the early 20th Century African American comedian Bert Williams, is delivered with humour and sensitivity, and is the most traditional arranged piece, with a  ragtime  feel.  Yet the racial stereo types are shrugged off in Sam Caslow’s ‘You Bring Out The Savage In Me’, which is transformed into a jungle inspired, percussion driven love  song  with a splendidly uninhibited vocal. 
There is an extended arrangement of ‘What A Little Moonlight Can Do’, initially as a night time soundscape overlaid by McLorin Salvant’s ethereal vocal tones, which develops into a superfast, swinging  romp. Diehl and Whitaker deliver impeccable solos, abetted by the swift brushwork of Herlin Riley, before  reverting  to the  atmospherics, and a rare  vocal grandstand finish. 
The group’s fresh, contemporary approach is particularly effective in the traditional folk song ‘John Henry’, where the insistent drums and bass line  are almost funky, and which also features one of several masterful solos on the album by pianist Aaron Diehl. There  are a few original pieces,  the most effective  being  the title track ‘Womanchild’, in which Whitaker’s  double bass beats pulse-like throughout, alternating with swinging sections.  McLorin Salvant also shows herself to be an accomplished pianist in the playful ‘Jitterbug Waltz’, delivered with great dynamics, harmonic and rhythmic variation.
Cecile McLorin  Salvant may be just 23, but she not only possesses a beautifully rounded, versatile voice, but  has the poise and maturity to interpret ballads such as ‘There’s A Lull In My Life’ with great sensitivity.  Her style of phrasing and note bending , and the playfulness of her interpretations is reminiscent of Betty Carter, and the timbre and delivery in her lower register  is sometimes suggestive of Sarah Vaughan. These and other artists are surely influences, but her voice is her own. Combined with this ensemble of outstanding  musicians, her début album is irresistible.
Disc details.
Debra M.
Cecile can be heard at the Customs House, South Shields on Thursday October 31 and at the Whitley Bay Jazz Party over this weekend (November 1-3).

2 comments :

Lance said...

Couldn't agree more - a superb CD and a taster of what's to come Thursday to Sunday at Customs House (Thursday) and Village Inn (Friday-Sunday).

Liz said...

loved her voice

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