Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, April 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

17972 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 293 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (April 22).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

Sat 26: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Darlington. 12 noon. Free (donations).
Sat 26: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 26: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Elvet Methodist Church, Durham. 7:30pm. Tickets: £12.00. + bf. Duo performance.
Sat 26: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.50.
Sat 26: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 27: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Paul Susans, Russ Morgan.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: JustKing Jones @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.50. JustKing Jones (alto sax, soprano sax); Jordan Williams (piano); Jason Clotter (bass); Malcolm Charles (drums). Ace NYC outfit!
Sun 27: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 27: Swing Manouche @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00. Tickets from 01665 711388.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Ken Marley, Russ Morgan.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

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, August 20, 2014

CD Review: Andy Milne and Dapp Theory – Forward in All Directions

Andy Milne (piano, prepared piano, Fender Rhodes and synths), Aaron Kruziki (soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet and douduk), John Moon (vocal poetics), Christopher Tordini (acoustic and electric bass), Kenny Grohowski (drums and percussion).
(Review by Hugh Cochrane).
This is Andy Milne's first recording for Whirlwind Recordings. It is Dapp Theory's third release and features guest performances from Ben Monder (guitar), and Jean Baylor and Gretchen Parlato (vocals).
Dapp Theory was formed by Milne in 1998 to “tell passionate stories, promote peace and inspire collective responsibility towards uplifting the human spiritual condition”. The music seeks to explore the truths that exist in universal wisdom, while creatively expressing life’s journeys.
Forward in All Directions chronicles the journey Dapp Theory has taken in its 15 years.
There is certainly a good jazz groove running through this album and Milne and his fellow musicians delight in exploring other creative influences including Appalachian folk, traditional Armenian, heavy metal, funk, hip-hop, pop and classical music.
The CD comes in at just over an hour and consists of ten tracks, each individual in their own way. Photographs, Hopscotch Search Party, Katharsis; are overlain with the spoken “vocal poetics” of John Moon. I personally can take or leave this rap-style addition, but the music's good. The scat vocals of Jean Mondor on Katharsis are a delight, however.
In the Mirror, Darkly, Nice to Meet You, The Trust, How and When versus What, Fourteen Fingers and Headache in Residence are, by contrast, purely instrumental tracks amply demonstrating the musicianship of Andy Milne on keys, Aaron Kruziki on reeds (including douduk), Chrisopher Tordini on bass and Kenny Grohowski on drums and percussion. Ben Monder adds atmospheric guitar on Search Party, How and When versus What and Headache in Residence.
On one level I can appreciate the supreme musicianship demonstrated on this recording. The sleeve notes indicate that this album has been at least nine years in gestation. The product is sold as something on an altogether higher plane – which, I regret, completely passes me by! One cannot however doubt the sincerity and dedication of Milne and other contributors to this project, which has been funded, in part, by a Kickstarter campaign .
The final words are Andy Milne's:
It's a milestone, a celebration, and a reflection of the changing times for artists. My life as an artist, entrepreneur and educator requires me to move in all directions at all times and I derive joy in meeting this challenge.”
Forward in All Directions is released by Whirlwind Recordings in the UK on September 8. Catalogue No. WR4660.
Hugh C.

No comments :

Blog Archive