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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

18037 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 458 of them this year alone and, so far, 36 this month (June 11).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free. Concert performance (open to the public)..
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Gareth John & the SOS Big Band @ The Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £25.00. CANCELLED!

Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: David Gray's Flextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £21.50. ‘Time After Time’.
Fri 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 20: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

Sat 21: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: Phoenix 4 @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington, Northumberland. 1:00-2:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £18.00. + £1.08 bf.
Sun 22: JazzMain @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

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.

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, October 05, 2014

CD Review: Mark Elf Returns 2014

Mark Elf (gtr); David Hazeltine (pno); Peter Washington (bs); Lewis Nash (dms); Steven Kroon (perc. on 1 track).
(Review by Lance).
The world is full of great jazz musicians and, sadly, some of these don't achieve the recognition they deserve beyond their own shores. Mark Elf may be just such an unsung hero - at least in the UK - despite a career that has included record dates with Ray Brown, Clark Terry and Ed Thigpen and appeared on stage with Dizzy, Jimmy Heath, Lou Donaldson and, no doubt, countless others.
This, his first recording in 8 years, was due to be made in 2012 but Super Storm Sandy* put that on hold after his home was flooded.
Fortunately, it all eventually came together resulting in this fine album with Elf playing my kind of guitar and ne'er a foot pedal in sight. Think Barney, Herb, Jim, Tal and you get the picture. Taste and class. Seven originals and three standards make for very enjoyable listening. The originals include a couple played on baritone guitar - an instrument I'm not familiar with but which Elf uses to great effect playing with an almost plucked cello-like tonality to create a unique sound. Having said that, it's his playing of the conventional jazz guitar that floats my boat. Such lucidity, lines that flow with apparent ease and, above all, a sense of swing that eludes many contemporary players whilst at the same time Elf's playing is not at all dated.
He shares the above qualities with his cohorts. Hazeltine, on Elf's A Little Diddy (based on Duke Jordan's Jordu) brings to mind some of John Lewis' looser work with MJQ. Washington and Nash lay down the foundation and Kroon's Latin percussion on Michelle's Mambo injects some chilli powder to the mix. Titillating is just that! How does the first line of People Will Say We're in Love (track 9 of 10) go? Oh yes I remember - Don't throw bouquets at me...
Take it from me that, if there is any justice in the world, the bouquets will be coming fast and furious!**
Lance.
*:Mark Elf's poignant composition The Sandy Effect is inspired by the storm that destroyed his home and many neighbouring communities. I can share the emotion on this one as a close friend of mine who lives down by the Jersey Shore had her life turned upside down during that period of devastation. The guitarist pours his soul into this one and rightly so.
**: Currently No 1 on the JazzWeek Charts.

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