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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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

17630 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 904 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (Dec. 20).

From This Moment On ...

December

Thu 26: The Boneshakers @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. The 17th annual Boneshakers’ Shindig.

Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. Business as usual!.
Fri 27: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 27: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sat 28: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 11:30am. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 28: Fri 20: Castillo Nuevo @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy, Rich Herdman & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 28: Ray Stubbs R & B All-Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Stepney Bank, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sun 29: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 29: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.

Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington (National Trust), Cambo, Morpeth NE61 4AR. 12 noon & 2:00pm. Admission to site £19.00.
Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Archie Brown & Friends @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00-8:00pm. Free.

January 2025

Wed 01: ???

Thu 02: ???

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: John Gregory @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar.

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

Monday, March 16, 2015

Dave Newton & Dean Stockdale @ The Globe Jazz Bar - March 15.









Dave Newton & Dean Stockdale (keys).
(Review by Lance/Photo courtesy of Ken Drew)
The number 22 bus takes you practically to the door of The Globe so it was but a short hop from Havana à la Hoochie into the unknown - the unknown being whether a two piano set, even one by two such formidable performers as Dave and Dean, would pull the punters.
The downstairs bar was doing good business with concertgoers seeking refreshment prior to an evening of Spandau Ballet at the Arena.
Upstairs too was near to standing room only as the audience slaked their thirst in eager anticipation.
We weren't disappointed.
A long reflective intro saw both players feeding off each other before stomping into Lady be Good.
This "Lady" wasn't just "Good" she was "Sensational"! Likewise Miss Jones. Jobim's Triste, St Thomas, Over the Rainbow and Cheek to Cheek were other twenty fingered outings that pleased, as did a solo slot for Dean On the Sunny Side of the Street.
During the break Dean revealed he'd taken lessons from Dave some years ago and it showed inasmuch as, despite their differing styles they were, nevertheless, very compatible.
The second round - sorry, I mean set - opened with the ever delightful Alice in Wonderland followed by a rolling stock blues boogie. Was it Pinetop, Meade Lux, Johnson or Yancey? No, it was John Clayton's Blues For Stephanie - it rocked the room.
Like Someone in Love, four handed stride on Tea For Two, My Romance (or was it Here's That Rainy Day?) had Dave not only flying solo but also pressing the guitar button on the Clavinova to the effect that by closing your eyes he really was playing guitar!
On Green Dolphin St and some fun with Rhythm changes then it was all over.
Or was it?
Of course it wasn't!
An audience member stood up and shouted (she really did) "Play Misty For me!"
Well even though Clint Eastwood wasn't around they did.
A fitting end to a rather wonderful day.
Lance.

11 comments :

stevebfc said...

Such as shame that two such gifted musicians couldn't find a tune less than 50 years old to play.

Lance said...

Thank goodness two such gifted musicians didn't find a tune less than 50 years old to play!

Anonymous said...

Ha - take that!

stevebfc said...

Not keen on that band either although Robbie has penned a couple of decent numbers

Bill Harper said...

Being domiciled in France, I obviously didn't catch the two piano concert at the Globe but I am amazed that anyone could find fault with the programme which was certainly taken from that treasure trove, the GREAT AMERICAN SONG BOOK. There were tens of thousands of beautifully constructed songs written during this period (1920--50) which allow inventive jazz musicians to improvise in a harmonic or modal fashion. Any pianist worth his salt will have hundreds of these firmly implanted in his head, to be produced & reconstructed at the drop of a hat. I am not familiar with Dean's work but I do know that Dave is a great devotee of TGASB, as I once had to do an unrehearsed two piano set with him at the Bude JF which was great fun, although I was hanging on to his coat tails most of the time but Hey, who isn't? I have always felt that a concert of this nature should contain material that the audience, in the main, will recognise & to avoid including obscure or one's own pretentious compositions. Obviously Dave & Dean didn't think that anything from outside of the TGAB was worthy of inclusion in their programme & who am I to argue with that? In any case it would allow them to select their proramme with virtually little or no rehearsal needed. Anyway how do you find good songs since the 60s as the art of good song writing died with the advent of Rock & Roll & Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lance said...

My sentiments exactly Bill - Long Live the GASbook!

stevebfc said...

I am amazed that someone who didn't actually attend the concert can pass comment on it's content given that you can't possibly now how the pieces were actually perfomed(as it happened they were performed with great panache) if you honestly think that there has been no decent original music composed since 1960 then with all due respect you opinion is meaningless. I have no problem with standards especially if performed in a creative and original way but as a jazz fan I particularly enjoy the new and unexpected. Having said that the vast majority of the audience seem to agree with you - so what do I know?

eric mckenzie Stutt said...

Well said Bill .

JC said...

Explaining recently why he had decided to do an album of Great American Songbook numbers associated with Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan said: 'I don't see myself as covering these songs in anyway. They've been covered enough. Buried, as a matter of a fact. What me and my band are basically doing is uncovering them. Lifting them out of the grave and bringing them into the light of day.'

Liz said...

Buried! never! and as for lifting them out of the grave, sorry Bob Dylan, they have never been out of the light of day, and yes I agree with Bill Harper, there has been no good song writing since the 60's. Lloyd Webber's stuff is repetitive and boring. GASbook will live forever, recorded by all the greats, and appreciated by anyone who understands a wonderful lyric and arrangement

Lance said...

Proof of the gasbook's durability lies in the number of artists who approach, shall we say The September of Their Years? suddenly discover the legacy of music they have chosen to ignore in their glory days - it's akin to seeking "the grey vote". Dylan may well be sincere - I have yet to hear the album - just as, I'm sure, Rod Stewart, Robbie Williams, Westlife and others were before him but...
Tony Bennett summed it [the sixties] up when he said, "All of a sudden you had to write your own songs as if Kern and Porter weren't good enough!"

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