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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17777 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 98 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Feb.8).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 15: Elkie Brooks @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘The Long Farewell Tour’.
Sat 15: Milne Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 16: MOBO Song @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 12 noon. Free, performances on the concourse. Line-up inc. Jazz Attack (on stage time TBC) & Jambone (12:20pm).
Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. .

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Matt Forster Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Jazz Milestones - 1975.
Thu 20: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 20: Orange Claw Hammer + Peony @ The Globe, Newcastle.7:30pm. Orange Claw Hammer play Captain Beefheart.
Thu 20: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Featuring special guest Zoë Gilby.

Fri 21: JazzMain @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. TBC.
Fri 21: Emma Rawicz w. Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

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

Wednesday, February 05, 2014

CD Review: Lauren Kinhan – Circle in a Square

Lauren Kinhan – vocal; Andy Ezrin – piano, Fender Rhodes & B3 organ; Ben Wittman – drums & percussion; David Finck – bass; Will Lee – bass.
Special guests: Randy Brecker – trumpet; Romero Lubambo – guitar; Chuck Loeb – guitar; Donny McCaslin – tenor saxophone; Joel Frahm – tenor saxophone; Gary Versace – accordion; Peter Eldridge – piano.
(Review by Debra Milne).
Lauren Kinhan is an established  American jazz singer and songwriter, best known  for her  longstanding involvement in New York Voices , and also as a member of  ‘vocal supergroups’  Moss and  JaLaLa, the latter a trio with Manhattan Transfer ‘s  Janis Siegel and Laurel Masse. Circle In A Square is her 3rd solo album, and is composed of entirely original material, recorded with a core of longstanding musical collaborators and a host of special guests. She  co-produced the project with Elliott Scheiner , whose  previous credits  include  albums with Steely Dan,  Sting, Paul Simon & BB King , and no less than 7 Grammys. 
The album showcases Kinhan’s   soul  infused  jazz voice, particularly  in  the up  tempo numbers. However, the  first and  title track, inspired by her husband’s love of his record collection,   starts  quietly with  Brecker  & Ezrin accompanying sparingly on trumpet and  Fender Rhodes , before the rhythm section kicks in with a laid back groove. I’m Looking For That Number is particularly funky, augmented by a punchy horn section, with one of several great solos from Ezrin, this  time  on B3 organ .  Kinhan’s  soulful delivery is  particularly  effective  in Another Hill To Climb,  where  the  piano and string quartet augment  the developing emotion of  the vocal.  In contrast, Chasing The Sun is a rhythmic, groove based, Latin infused, wordless piece, composed of  layers of voices and instruments, overlaid  with scat  improvisation and Romero Lubambo’s  solo on guitar. 
A  straightforward  piano trio  suffices in  the contemplative We’re Not Going Anywhere Today, and her excellent intonation and scatting  are highlights of the  bebop style Bear Walk, which also features  a  fine electric bass solo from Will Lee,  and Randy Brecker on trumpet.  Kinhan  makes a distinctive contribution to the shoe- related musical canon  with Chaussure’s Complex, a sensuous tango featuring Gary Versace on accordion , although  it is unlikely to  displace Kirsty McColl, Paul Simon or  Elvis Costello  as  leaders of the  Footwear Top Ten*. Nevertheless, Circle In A Square is an impressive  album, which  captures  this  singer and composer  in  the prime of her musical career.
[*In These Shoes?; Diamonds In The Sole Of Her Shoes; The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes]
Lauren Kinhan: Circle in a Square is available on Dotted i Records. Sample.
Debra M.

3 comments :

Unknown said...

Hi Lance and Debra, Lauren Kinhan, here. Thanks for the strong nod. I'm having the time of my life touring this music and expanding as an artist. I hope these shoes carry me to England sometime soon.
Cheers, Lauren

Lance said...

Shoes? Vagabond Shoes (Vic Damone); These Boots Are Made For Walkin' (Nancy S.); Hi Heel Sneakers (Stones/Buddy Guy); Sand in my Shoes (Connie Boswell); Boots (Rudyard Kipling) any more footwear suggestions?

Debra Milne said...

Eugene says 'The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys' by Traffic & Lauren may be interested to know my husband is getting out the vinyl now to play it!

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