Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18288 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 142 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 14), 42

From This Moment On ...

February

Thu 19: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: George Shearing Jazz Moments.

Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
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: Squabble @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:00pm. Steve Chambers (organ); Jude Murphy (double bass, vocals); Sid White (drums).
Fri 20: Jive Aces @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors).
Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Sat 21: ???

Sun 22: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 22: Joe Steels Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Harben Kay Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Joe Steels Group @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 24: Liam Oliver & Shayo Oshodi @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 26: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 26: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00 adv.
Thu 26: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Blues.

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

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

CD Review: Tipping Point – The Earthworm’s Eye View

James Mainwaring (tenor & soprano saxophones, effects), Matthew Bourne (Fender Rhodes), Michael Bardon (double bass) & Joost Hendrickx (drums)
(Review by Russell).
Tipping Point is James Mainwaring’s new project. Roller Trio’s reeds man is joined by fellow Leeds College of Music graduates Mick Bardon and Joost Hendrickx and one of their tutors, pianist Matthew Bourne. The CD is the second to be released on Lamplight Social Records, the label set up by saxophonist Mainwaring.
Ten tracks – five of them improvisations – composed by Mainwaring, The Earthworm’s Eye View is a departure from the riotous abandon of  one-time Mercury Prize contenders Roller Trio. The presence of Bourne playing Fender Rhodes is surely a significant factor in the playful group improvisations. Rat Bucket, an improvised piece constructed upon a three bar riff and twelve bar melody gets to the heart of the music. Quiet, organic improv, Mainwaring’s tenor lines working off  Bourne’s dense, shifting Fender Rhodes.
Bigsaw Jigsaw veers from the improvised to the notated, flitting from one to the other in a split second, back and forth, piecing together the composition at breakneck pace. Mick Bardon’s low-in-the-mix bass playing rumbles assuredly throughout the album and Joost Hendrickx’s drumming is in-the-pocket, variously encouraging and responding to effects thrown into the mix. ‘Effects’ or ‘FX’ can be seen – and heard – as one of Mainwaring’s instruments on The Earthworm’s View. The eponymous track successfully incorporates a tenor/FX sound with Fender Rhodes and the bristling energy of Bardon and Hendrickx.
Russell.
The Earthworm’s View on Lamplight Social Records (LRSCD00 2) is released on October 9.
Russell.         

1 comment :

Russell said...

Tipping Point play a jazz North East gig at the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle on Sunday 8th November in a double bill with the Long Lonesome Go.

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