Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18621 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 485 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 14) 37

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

June

Wed 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 17: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 17: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 18: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 18: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 18: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 18: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 19: Joe Steels Group @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 19: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 19: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 19: Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £14.33., £11.16., £8.00.
Fri 19: Martin Litton @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01 (inc. bf); £6.50 (inc. bf); £15.00 on the door. Solo piano. CANCELLED!
Fri 19: Jools Holland’s R&B Orchestra @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Joe Webb support set.
Fri 19: Hot Club du Nord @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 19: Jive Aces: The Roots of Rock & Roll @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00 + bf.

Sat 20: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tynedale Beer Festival, Corbridge. 5:00-6:00pm.
Sat 20: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 20: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Trinity Church, Gosforth, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. NCRO w. guests Dean Stockdale & Nick Ward.

Sun 21: From Lagos to Longbenton: Unity in the Community @ Sunderland Minster. From 1:30pm. Free. A multi-bill Unity in the Community event, inc. From Lagos to Longbenton.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio w. Graham Hardy.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 22: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 23: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 23: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

GIJF Day One - Robert Glasper Experiment.

Robert Glasper keyboards, Derrick Hodge  bass, Mark Colenburg drums, Casey Benjamin vocoder and saxophone.
(Review by Steve H.)
Having read a review of the London Hammersmith Apollo gig  where several renowned soul singers (Laura Mvulva, Emelie Sande, Raheem DeVaughn) joined  Mr Glasper on stage, I was nervous that this gig was going to turn out to be more R&B than Jazz/Hip Hop. I need not have  worried, Sage Two provided a wonderful arena for this powerful and exciting concert.
The versatile Benjamin excelled on both Saxophone and vocoder, Hodge laid down some great bass grooves whilst drummer Colenburg drove proceedings with brutal ferocious power. Overseeing them all was the magnificent band leader Glasper who not only displayed a sense of humour musically by playing little spoofs of well known popular numbers on the keyboards but also laughed out loud and then said  ‘that was the most honest thing I have ever heard’ in response to an audience member shouting back ‘No’  to Glasper’s question about who had heard of the album Double Booked which was the album previous to Black Radio which in turn is the album prior to his latest album Black Radio 2.  This late night gig was an unabated and exhilarating joy from start to finish and the only downside was that it didn’t go on all night.
Steve H.
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1 comment :

Michael Lamb said...

Thanks Lance. I think this is one of the most engaging gigs I've ever been to! The musicianship that these guys displayed was amazing in both performance and composition. The four elements on stage totally clicked. Mark Colenberg surely worked the hardest(?!) - I've never seen grooves played so fast for such a long time! Some of the hi-lights for me were the covers of Bill Withers' 'Lovely Day' and Nivarna's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' - brilliant harmonisations paired with that chilled hip-hop/ jazz fusion groove and with Casey Banjamin's smooth effected vocals.

I had only been a Robert Glasper 'YouTuber', but have now ordered his back catalogue of recordings! If the heavier hip-hop/ R&B fusion stuff isn't your thing, then check out his piano trio. A good place to start might be 'Double Booked' - it gives half a disc over to the Trio and the other half to the Experiment... best of both! (Michael Lamb)

Wednesday, April 09, 2014 8:14:00 am

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