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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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

17655 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 929 of them this year alone and, so far, 74 this month (Dec. 31).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 03: John Gregory @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar.

Sat 04: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £5.00. Xmas party (rescheduled from early December).

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 05: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Salty Dog @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Americana, jazz & blues.
Sun 05: Papa G’s Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Mon 06: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:00pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: John H Hammond.
Thu 09: FILM: Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 2:35pm. Documentary (dir. Johan Grimonprez) ‘about jazz, (de)colonial history and activism featuring Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Dizzy Gillespie’.
Thu 09: Happy Tuesdays @ Ye Olde Cross, Ryton. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 09: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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

Thursday, March 27, 2014

CD Review: Sara Serpa & Andre Matos - Primavera

Sara Serpa (voice, Fender Rhodes, piano); Andre Matos (guitar, electric bass, cymbal). Also Greg Osby (soprano sax); Leo Genovese (melodica, kosikas, bombo legiiero, piano, toy guitar; Pete Rende (prophet keyboard)
(Review by Ann Alex).
Pin back your ears for something delightful when you listen to this CD. Ethereal, flowing, interweaving harmonies and rhythms that suggest jazz as JS Bach may have written it, with hints of the sound of free jazz on some tracks.  Sara Serpa sings sweet-voiced vocalese on most tracks, and all the music except Vanguard and Se Me Va La Voz is written by either Serpa or Matos.  Lyrics for another 2 tracks (in Spanish or Portuguese, not sure) are by a poet Alberto Caeiro, and the final track ‘Earth’ has music by Serpa, set to a poem by e.e. cummings.
For instance the first track, Primavera, is a wordless celebration of Spring, with ‘La Da’ type vocals cut across by the guitar, then the voice is double-tracked, the sound made me smile, and I guess this would be fun to do. Tempo follows, and this has Serpa singing slow, smooth, harmony with herself, and a church music feel from the keyboards.  Rios has rich Spanish guitar; then comes call and response involving sax and melodica, and deeper-voiced singing and free jazz elements on Choro. Kubana features staccato guitar with the whole band and the free feel returns with Nuvem and percussive keys and percussion. 14 tracks in all, every one worth listening to.
 I’d be glad if anyone out there could tell me what kosikas and bombo legiiero, mentioned among the instruments above, are.  The names sound like percussion. Whatever, the whole CD is a gem, especially for those with adventurous tastes who like something a bit different. The CD was planned originally as a straightforward acoustic duo but as Serpa and Matos became more involved in experimenting with the music, this CD was the result.
Primavera is released on April 25 via Inner Circle Music.
Ann Alex. 

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