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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

17,533 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 497 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (June 23).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Bal Bruch Social Dance @ As You Like It, Sandyford, Newcastle. 12:30pm. Free. Dance event with Hot Club de Heaton performing live (2:00-3:00pm). A ‘Jar on the Bar’ event.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

JULY 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Sunday, June 22, 2014

CD Review: Fred Hersch Trio – Floating.

 Fred Hersch(pno); John Hebert (bass); Eric McPherson (dms).
(Review by David Brownlow).
This is the first Fred Hersch Trio studio album in four years after a series of “live” sessions featuring the same personnel.  A fine player, influenced by some of the “greats” – Evans, Peterson, & Jamal among them, Hersch has evolved his own style which is highly technical, imaginative, searching, emotional and inspiring. The CD follows the typical pattern of a Hersch Trio set when the opener is a standard, followed by some original music, then a ballad from the GAS book and finally ending with a Monk piece.
You And The Night And The Music is played in a quasi – classical style with elements of fugue, minuet and contrapuntal work incorporated. The familiar chords of the song help the listener to follow the intricately – woven rhapsodic improvisations. The title track Floating flows gracefully along, providing harmonic surprises at every turn where Fred resolves his chord sequences in unexpected ways. The Trio work well together, interplaying with worthwhile contributions from bass and drums. West Virginia Rose, the first of six pieces all dedicated to various people, is a through-composed song inspired by Hersch’s mother and grandmother – with words by our own Norma Winstone  who has provided lyrics for several of Fred’s songs in other contexts. Home Fries dedicated to bassist Hebert  has a rolling Crescent City “good-time” feel.
Far Away is for Shamrit Shoshan - McPherson’s wife - who shockingly died in 2012 at the age of 29. This reflective piece is deeply felt – again with unexpected harmonic twists and turns, each one taking the listener unawares. Arcata, dedicated to Esperanza Spalding, has a restless, driving quality with a “catchy” melody and sprightly improvising from Hersch. A Speech To The Sea  dedicated to Finnish artist Maaria Wirkkala,  gently evolves as an impressionistic piece ebbing and flowing in a graceful style with a standout melodic solo from the bassist.
Autumn Haze for fellow-pianist  Kevin Hays has effective trio interplay throughout ( as in Evans/LaFaro/Motian). Strong minor harmonies in a descending pattern characterize this song. The penultimate track   If Ever I Would Leave You is performed as a ballad contrasting sharply with Rollins’ well-known up-tempo version. It’s played in the style of the Keith Jarrett “Standards” Trio with much filigree decoration from the piano, root-seeking basslines and tasteful drumming. A standout track! Finally, Monk’s Lets Cool One  taken at a jaunty tempo, is thoroughly examined by the Trio with humour, invention and vigour.
Overall, a very enjoyable CD by a major jazz artist whose career continues to evolve in imaginative settings. Available on PALMETTO from July 8..
Dave B.

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