Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,057 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 921 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 29) 100.

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

October.

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

CD Review: Javier Vercher/Ferenc Nemeth – Imaginary Realm

Javier Vercher (ten/perc); Ferenc Nemeth (perc) + David Kikoski (pno 4 tracks).
(Review by Steve Horowitz)
Spanish born  tenor saxophonist  Javier Vercher and Hungarian born percussionist Ferenc Nemeth team up to produce their second album in six years.  The duo  become a trio with the addition of Pianist David Kikoski  who guests on 4 of the tracks. The album opens with a short intro Silent Stones wonderful interplay between Sax and percussion conjure up a dreamy tropical ambiance. Kikoski leads out the title track Imaginary Realm , saxophone and percussion then combine in a gentle almost classical atmospheric manner. 
Poets of the East is a haunting tune inspired by the Far East rather than our own North East I imagine. The combination of percussion and tenor once more creates a wonderful atmosphere. The piano features again  in Form and Meaning giving us the most straight ahead trio piece on the album. A short percussion solo by Nemeth Drums leads into Prana a subtle sparse saxophone is accompanied by the elegant brush work of Nemeth. Circles in the Sky is a more tense affair on the saxophone but with a calypso style percussion accompaniment!  Sumerian Magic Spells is another short percussion solo but this time it features Vercher on an African Sound Box.  The liveliest track  on the album Giant Henge sees the trio giving it a real go with the very enthusiastic playing providing a great uplift.  A reprise of Prana this time played solely by Kikoski on piano concludes the named tunes on the album. However there is a hidden bonus track awaiting. A  conventional but nevertheless  extremely enjoyable rendition off Ellington’s Come Sunday played by the  trio.
Whilst contemplating the CD Sleeve  I was able  create a whole new set of titles by simply combining  some of the track names for example we could have Stones Henge , The Magic Circle , Giant Drums , Sumerian Sky , Imaginary Poets, Spell Form and Meaning and The Silent East. Joking aside this album is a magnificent collaboration by 2 guys who are clearly at one with each other the subtle meditative intertwining of the instruments create a wonderfully atmospheric evocative piece.
Javier Vercher/Ferenc Nemeth – Imaginary Realm is available from Amazon, CD Baby etc.
Steve H.
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