Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18383 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 247 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 17 ), 57

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

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

CD Review: Let Spin - Let Spin.

Moss Freed (gtr); Ruth Goller (bs);  Chris Williams (sax); Finlay Panter (dms).
Let Spin were formed in 2012 as a collaboration between four of the UK's top genre-crossing instrumentalists: Freed (Moss Project); Goller (Acoustic Ladyland); Williams (Led Bib) and Finlay Panter (Bits and Pieces Big Band). Discovering their own shared space the band quickly found their own unique language and two months later recorded this, their début album.
To be honest, reading the blurb my first reaction was that I'm going to hate this!
Then I played it!
Admittedly it is far removed from my normal comfort zone which is not necessarily a bad thing. If you've never tasted something how do you know you don't like it?
There's a lot of free improv but this is balanced by original, well structured, themes. Put the two together and the result is a mix of exciting, often frantic, solos and ensembles as well as contrasting dark melancholic pieces.
Each of the four contributed two tracks Freed's enigmatic Eastern tinged How to Woo a Dolphin my personal favourite and not just for the title!
An album that could sway some of the more conservative jazzers into uncharted waters and encourage them to return many times.
The good news is that Let Spin are at the Bridge, Newcastle, for a Splinter gig on Sunday February 23.
The CD was released yesterday on Efpi Records. Digital Download/samples here.
For more details and tour dates visit http://efpirecords.com/about-efpi/
Lance.

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