Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 821 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 30.) 100.

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

October.

Sun 04: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Heugh Battery, Hartlepool. 11:00am-12 noon & 1:00-2:00pm.
Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 04: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Bill Watson (trumpet).
Sun 04: Sax Choir w. Rachel Musson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Rivkala + Ceitidh Mac + Thatcher & Knowles @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. A NFOJAIM event.
Sun 04: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. RESCHEDULED from September 27.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £3.00.

Mon 05: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 06: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Paul Grainger (double bass).
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Murray Oak, Paul Grainger, John Bradford.
Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 06: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. First night of two.

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 07: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. Second night of two.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 08: Indigo Jazz Voices w. Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Thursday, October 02, 2014

CD Review: Ana Velinova: The Thief

Ana Velinova (vocals); Misha Platigorsky (keys, melodica); Neil Swainson (bass); Willard Dyson (drums, percussion); Gordon Clements (reeds); Joby Baker (bass on 1 track); Various (brass, clarinet, backing vocals).
(Review by Ann Alex).
Ana Velinova hails from Bulgaria and has worked and performed in major USA and Canadian cities.  She has a Master’s degree in Jazz and Contemporary-Classical Voice Performance and has taught singing.  This is a fine album, her third, of very varied material performed in a jazz style, 5 tracks written by the singer and other tracks by writers not familiar (to me at any rate), such as Eric Dozier.  I’ve reviewed many such CD’s for BSH, showing that there’s no shortage of singing talent around – bring it on I say - even if some of these women singers will never be internationally known. (Ed: Bulgaria, major Canadian and USA cities?)
The variety of material comes from the originality of the self-composed songs, eg ‘Why should I sleep when I often get visits, from magical creatures that dance on my eyelids’. These particular words are accompanied by clever melodica playing, giving a touch of magic.  There are love songs; a song which is a tribute to someone called Elis Regina; Mystic In My Soul which is a version of Gypsy In My Soul; a Bulgarian Folk song Nani Mi Damiancho, which is true to the original yet with jazz elements; Cool, which manages to be just that, very sophisticated; and the title song which concludes the album, all about stealing parts of nature, eg ‘I stole a secret from a shell, sleeping gently on a rock.’  All sung in a beautifully flexible voice, sweet for love songs but edgier for the more jazz-like numbers, and with the occasional burst of wordless singing which is not quite scat.  The band is well up to the job and they get opportunities to solo, notably on Cool and a drum solo on Mystic In My Soul. This is a band which also knows when to hold back, as in I Want You, a song of longing, with discreetly sparse accompaniment with only the keys being expansive.
‘The Thief’ was issued on the Ward Street Music Records label on September 16. 
See www.anavelinova.com  
Ann Alex.
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