Bebop Spoken There

John Donegan: ''What you take in through your ears can come out through your fingers.'' (Notes to Which Direction October, 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

19,041 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 905 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 26) 84.

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.

Tue 27: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest Julija Jacenaite.
Tue 27: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).

Wed 28: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 28: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 28: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 29: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 29: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 29: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 29: Radio Pensacola Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Featuring guest Jan Spencelayh.
Thu 29: Simon Taylor Band @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. £8.00.
Thu 29: King Bees @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Friday, July 24, 2015

CD Review: Mark Winkler - Jazz And Other Four Letter Words

(Review by Ann Alex)
Definitely my CD of the month!  This is the happiest jazz CD I’ve ever heard, swinging, witty lyrics, good musicianship, with piano strongly featured.  Five of the eleven tracks are originals with lyrics by Mark Winkler.  For instance Your Cat Plays Piano (he’s obviously been watching U-tube)‘...mostly on the black keys/ I can swear he’s a jazzer/ ‘cos he will not play the melody.’
Or consider the romantic I Chose The Moon, a love song for his partner of 34 years, ‘cos when the moon shines/ it shines through your eyes’.
The other originals are My Idea Of A Good Time; Stay Hip; Jazz And Other Four Letter Words, and this latter song literally lists the relevant words, such as Bing, coop, dink, Ella, frog, which are also playfully listed on the back inside CD cover.
The other 6 tracks are I’m Hip (a wonderful piece of satire about the state of being hip and made famous by Blossom Dearie. It's sung as a duet here with Man Trans' Cheryl Bentyne); Nice Work if You Can Get It (sung as a slow swing but with great optimism); Paul Simon’s Have A Good Time (with 8 of the musicians in a big band type of arrangement); I Wish I Were In Love Again; I Never Went Away (a surprise inclusion, a jazzy song by classical composer Richard Rodney Bennett); and a short medley of songs about New York.
Mark Winkler hails from Southern California and is a platinum award winner and a producer and educator.  He has had over 200 of his songs recorded or sung by such people as Randy Crawford and Dee Dee Bridgewater, which doesn’t surprise me at all, as he really knows how to write songs.  One of his many CD’s, Jazz And Other Four Letter Words is released on August 1 on Cafe Pacific Records, Catalogue # CPCD45125. (Check it out here).
Ann Alex .   
Mark Winkler (vocals); Cheryl Bentyne (vocals on 2 tracks) Jamieson Trotter (piano, most arrangements); John Clayton (bass); Jeff Hamilton (drums); Mike Shapiro (drums); Dan Lutz (bass); Larry Koonse (Guitar); Pat Kelley (Guitar); Bob Sheppard (tenor sax); Rich Eames (piano, some arrangements); Kirsten Edkins (tenor sax); Bob McChesney (trombone); Walt Fowler (trumpet)
(Collective personnel)

1 comment :

ukulele chords said...

I always look forward to his presence. The songs are very I liked.

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