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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17755 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 76 of them this year alone and, so far, 1 this month (Feb.1).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 07: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Old Lowlight, Clifford’s Fort, North Shields NE30 1JE. 7:00pm. £15.00. + bf. www.oldlowlight.co.uk. SOLD OUT!
Fri 07: Stuart Turner Trio @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Jazz, blues, Americana etc.
Fri 07: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 07: Rose Room @ Wylam Institute. 8:00pm. £19.67.
Fri 07: John Rowland Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 08: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 08: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 08: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 08: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 08: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’.
Sat 08: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra event. All welcome.

Sun 09: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ The Forum, Billingham. 3:00pm.
Sun 09: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Tom Remon & Mark Williams @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 09: Rod Oughton’s Tomorrow’s New Quartet with Ben van Helder @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Deschanel Gordon.
Sun 09: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 10: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 11: Steve Summers Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Free. Inc. Olly Styles (tenor sax).
Thu 13: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: Artist Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Hannabiell & Midnight Blue.
Thu 13: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

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

Saturday, May 09, 2015

CD Review: Matt Owens - The Aviators’ Ball

(Review by Russell)
Matt Owens’ CD The Aviators’ Ball is an ambitious project; large in scale, multi-genre in concept and realisation. The album is the bassist’s debut as a leader and he has assembled some of the north west’s finest musicians to assist him in his endeavours. Leftfield, indie, alt folk, string and wind ensembles, much of the music was written as a commission from the Manchester Jazz Festival.
On a visit to Prague during the city’s ball season Owens found himself, as one does, at an aviators’ ball, hence the title of the album. The CD’s cover artwork features a photograph taken in 1905 on the rooftop garden of the Midland Hotel, Manchester. Grainy, evocative of a bygone era, the image illustrates the retro aspect of Owens’ compositions. Retro, yes, yet of the moment too, with the composer’s interest in contemporary music developments and the art of the moving image (film and television credits). The musicians contributing to the project are drawn from across the spectrum. Bassoon introduces the opening track – Raindrops on Our Rooftop – and it could be straight from Peter and the Wolf. Trumpet ace Neil Yates (a bona fide jazz player) is heard on tin whistle, percussion (Rick Weedon and Danny Ward excellent throughout) references the folk music scene and the strings of the Vintage String Quartet suggest the filmic qualities found in the writing of Philip Glass and others.
So, is The Aviators’ Ball of interest to readers of Bebop Spoken Here? Should the album receive a recommendation? The jazz content is, at best, minimal, the music excellent. A worthwhile purchase, but switch off your jazz antenna. Matt Owens’ Aviators’ Ball will be released on Monday May 18 on All Made Up Records AMU0007 and on the night Owens will be playing the music at St Werburgh’s Church, Chorlton, Manchester during the Chorlton Arts Festival. Seven o’clock start, admission £5.00..    Russell.                            
Matt Owens (double bass), Neil Yates (trumpet & tin whistle), Steve Chadwick (trumpet & cornet), John Ellis (piano & organ), Edward Barnwell (piano), Tom Davies (guitar & vocals), Billy Buckley (guitar & lap steel), Zoe Kyoti (guitar & vocals), Kirsty Almeida (vocals), Rosa Campos Fernandez (vocals), Rioghnach Connolly (vocals), Orli Nyles (vocals), Cara Robinson (vocals), Caroline Sheehan (vocals), Simon Davies (bassoon), Jill Allen (clarinet), Rosa Campos Fernandez (clarinet), Amina Hussain (clarinet), Atholl Ransome (alto flute), Philip Howarth (cor anglais), Sophie Hastings (glockenspiel, marimba & vibes), Rick Weedon (drums, percussion & vibes) Danny Ward (drums), Souza Wind Quintet: Carla Souza (flute), Daniel Benfield (oboe), Lucy Rugman (clarinet & bass clarinet), Lucy Keyes (bassoon) & Jon Harris (French horn), Vintage String Quartet: Naomi Koop (violin), Alison Williams (violin), Aimée Johnson (viola) & Semay Wu (cello).     

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