Bebop Spoken There

Ron Carter quoting Sonny Rollins: ''What we call jazz - that's keeping the world in equilibrium. I don't care what kind of music you like out here today. It all comes from jazz.'' (DownBeat August, 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

18818 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 682 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Aug. 20) 51.

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

August

Sat 22: Durham Alumni Big Band + Durham Alumni All Stars + Swing Manouche @ Darlington Market Place. From 1:00pm. Free. The All Stars (1:00pm); The Alumni (2:00-4:00pm); Swing Manouche (4:15pm).

Sun 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Royal Quays Marina, North Shields. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free..
Sun 23: Blue Note Quintet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00..
Sun 23: Timmy Allan Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 24: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ 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: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 27: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 27: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 27: 58 Jazz Collective @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Stranton, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 27: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00.

Fri 28: Graham Hardy Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Alice Grace Quintet @ Hoochie Coochie - Jan. 17


Alice Grace (vcl); Paul Gowland (ten/alt/sop); Pete Gilligan (pno); Paul Grainger (bs); Russ Morgan (dms).
(Review by Lance).
The outstanding moment for me in the Danny Kaye, Bing Crosby remake of Holiday Inn - White Christmas - wasn't Bingo singing the title song, or even the delightful and amusing Sisters sung by Vera Ellen and Rosemary Clooney. No, for me, it was George's auntie's heartfelt crooning of the Irving Berlin number Love You Didn't Do Right By Me.
The years rolled by and I never heard the song again - apart from every Boxing Day or thereabouts!
Until tonight!
Tonight, Alice raised Auntie Rose's seemingly unpassable bar up to an even higher level!
This was 'the biz'!
Berlin had also provided the opener - an uptempo blast on Blue Skies and it just went on from there.
Alice sang and scatted and vocalesed (remind me what the difference is?)
She swung and swang, Paul Gowland swang and swung on saxophones galore. Gilligan was, simply, Gilligan - how many pianists just wish they were "Simply, Gilligan?"
Paul Grainger, his blossoming beard  has a long way to go before it rivals the late Crombie's facial adornment  - his bass playing makes up for it. In particular the fours twixt voice and bass that were just some of the highlights.
Russ, he was brill . Not just solos but, as sympathetic a player as you'll find behind any parradiddle.
A choice selection of the old and not so old. The familiar and not so familiar.
Blue Skies; Until You Come Back to Me (S.Wonder); Secret Love; Nardis (Mile's tribute to Ben Sidran as lyricised by Sarah Elizabeth Charles); What is This Thing Called Love?; Invitation; If I Knew Now; Love You Didn't Do Right By Me;  Everybody's Song (Kenny Wheeler); Learnin' the Blues; God Bless the Child; Brenda Russell's It's a Jazz Day; Just in Time; You Don't Know What Love is; On the Street Where you Live and, for an encore, The Sky is There.
The sky certainly was there. This may not have been Berkeley Square although there definitely was magic abroad in the air and a nightingale did sing...
Photos.
Lance.

2 comments :

John Pope (on F/b) said...

'Vocalise' usually refers to putting lyrics to a learned instrumental solo. Kurt Elling does it fabulously with a Charlie Haden solo on his recording of Moonlight Serenade.

Just in case you were serious.

Lance said...

Thanks John. This and many other jazz questions are answered in a soon to be published book by Dave Gelly - '30-Second Jazz'. Review coming up shortly.

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