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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Parish Hall, St Barnabas’ Church, Rowlands Gill. 7:30pm. £10.00. BYOB (tea & coffee available), raffle. Proceeds to St Barnabas’ Church. Performance feat. Shayo (vocals).
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

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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