Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18548 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 412 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 19) 66

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

May

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Miles Davis & His Favourite Musicians.
Thu 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 28: Bobby Rush @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. + bf. Veteran USA bluesman.
Thu 28: Squabble @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 28: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.

Sat 30: Giles Strong Quartet @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £1.50 bf.

Sun 31: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 31: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 31: Sinfonia of London: Tea Dance @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm. Free. John Wilson ensemble performing on the concourse. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin & more.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 31: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 31: Ben Haskins Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00.

June

Mon 01: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Mon 01: CW Stoneking @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Blues, Americana.

Tue 02: Mark Williams Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.
Tue 02: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Saturday, December 05, 2015

CD Review: Jazz at the Movies - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Bang

Joanna Eden (vcl); Mark Crooks (clt/ten); Chris Ingham (pno); Rev. Andrew J. Brown (bs); George Double (dms).
(Review by Lance).
Just as I'm struggling to find my CD's of the Year I thought that, at least, I'd got the Vocal CD Gong nailed down - Rebecca Kilgore's Just Imagine was leading by a country furlong - all bets were off - then, from out of left field, this one arrived! Talk about a dead heat!
Well, I guess, Becky gets the nod but, only because Joanna and her Kiss Kiss Bang Bang gang's disc isn't officially launched until January - what a benchmark for 2016 warblers!
An interpretation of some of the movies greatest songs (thankfully, The Sound of Music doesn't figure!). Apart from being a singer that I want to hear more and more of, Joanna is also teacher and mentor of the latest Bond singer - Sam Smith. On the Bond theme, the title of the album Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was in fact rejected by the Thunderball team - this recording exonerates John Barry & Leslie Bricusse! 
All the songs are magnificent. Put the Blame on Mame - Rita Hayworth miming it to Anita Ellis' vocal in Gilda. Joanna recreates the moment perfectly.
I didn't see Dick Tracy but Sondheim's Sooner or Later created such a mood I thought I had (admittedly I did read the comics!) great lyric.
Close Enough For Love - the greatest story never told - with Crooks' Getzian tenor adding the piquancy to the vocal and the lyric and Chris Ingham pitching in with some nice piano.
So much more, in fact More Than You Know including verse.
I'd Rather Have the Blues by Frank De Vol was sung behind the titles by Nat King Cole as Mickey Spillane's Kiss Me Deadly unfolded. Frank De Vol, Nat King Cole, Mickey Spillane brought together by this band!
Great songs, great films, great band, great singer.
Chris Ingham last appeared in these pages via a rave review of his acclaimed Hoagy album (with Russ Morgan on drums) and the raves continue. Crooks' claim to fame may be with the John Wilson Orchestra but he is equally at home in a small group and his tenor/clarinet playing, along with Ingham's piano, Rev. Brown's bass and Doubles's drums provide the perfect setting for one of the finest vocal albums I've heard for quite awhile!
Lance.
Jazz at the Movies - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Bang is to be launched at the Bull's Head Barnes on January 23, 2016. 
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1 comment :

Liz said...

This is a wonderful Cd for ( in my humble) late night listening, Joanna Eden delights us with such a diverse selection of numbers. So good to see Leslie Bricusse/Tony Newley being recognised and remembered for their fine contributions, especially "Pure Imagination" A great blend of backing musicians but for me, again a personal opinion, the sax is always King. As a Sondheim fan I adore that line from "Sooner or later" " The more you resist Babe, the more it excites me" and who couldn't be reminded of Michelle Pfeiffer draping herself across the piano in "The fabulous Baker Boys" singing " More than you know" Every time I play this CD, it brings something new to the table, and now sits amongst my favourites.

Sunday, December 06, 2015 11:35:00 am

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