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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, 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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Tue 25: Fred Wesley & the New JB’s @ The Cluny. 7:30pm (doors). £27.50. POSTPONED! New date Wednesday 26 November.

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Hannabiell & Midnight Blue @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 27: Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Superb blues duo.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm.
Fri 28: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 28: Mostly Moonlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 28: Juliana Day & Manon McCoy @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00. advance. JNE.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

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, July 11, 2015

CD review: Alex Hutton Trio - Magna Carta Suite

Alex Hutton (piano), Yuri Goloubev (double bass) & Asaf Sirkis (drums) + Neil Sparkes (vocals), Liz Palmer (baroque flute) & Liesbeth Allart (cor anglais)
(Review by Russell)
The Magna Carta Suite 800 years on. Listening to Alex Hutton’s latest CD one wonders if it’s a project he’s had in mind for some time. The worlds of classical and English folk music saturate this concept album. Twelve tracks with a total running time of thirty nine minutes, CD cover artwork incorporating the skills of the calligrapher and, perhaps, that of the lithographer, this F-IRE label release showcases the interests of a quintessentially English jazz musician.
Hutton is known for his freewheeling, swinging jazz piano playing. Magna Carta Suite features his regular trio – bassist Yuri Goloubev and dynamic percussionist Asaf Sirkis – playing, for the most part, in a restrained manner. The Court of King John wouldn’t have had any difficulty with the stately compositions and instrumentation on this CD. Baroque flute and cor anglais* take their place alongside the conventional instruments of a twenty first century jazz trio. Old Yew (the Magna Carta was signed under a yew tree) introduces Liz Palmer’s baroque flute. Liesbeth Allart’s cor anglais lends an authentic early music sound to the project on King John’s Hunting Lodge (one minute twenty three seconds in its brevity) and again on the closing track As Sunlight Passes (Old Yew). The closing two compositions feature the spoken word. Listed as ‘vocals’ in the CD notes, Neil Sparkes’ annunciation is that of a poet reading from a scroll. His words are printed on one side of the CD cover. Where’s the jazz? Try tracks five, six and seven. Track six – Gunpowder and Compass – is based on a theme from Bach’s Fugue in C minor. No question about it JS Bach was a proto jazz improviser! These three tracks, coincidentally (?) the longest on the CD, allow the core trio to stretch out and play some jazz. Asaf Sirkis generates huge energy, Hutton and Goloubev feed off it, this is the jazz on Magna Carta Suite.       
Magna Carta Suite is released on July 13 on the F-IRE label (F-IRECD 82).
Neil Sparkes’ Magna Carta Suite- Xerox Sonnets & X-Ray Blues is published by Hesterglock Press 2015.
Russell.
*Note – cor anglais is on track 4 (not listed in CD notes), in addition to tracks 2 and 9.

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