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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17755 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 76 of them this year alone and, so far, 1 this month (Feb.1).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sat 08: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 08: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 08: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 08: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 08: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’.
Sat 08: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra event. All welcome.

Sun 09: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 09: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ The Forum, Billingham. 3:00pm.
Sun 09: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Tom Remon & Mark Williams @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 09: Rod Oughton’s Tomorrow’s New Quartet with Ben van Helder @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Deschanel Gordon.
Sun 09: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 10: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 11: Steve Summers Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Free. Inc. Olly Styles (tenor sax).
Thu 13: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: Artist Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Hannabiell & Midnight Blue.
Thu 13: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 14: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 12:30-1:30pm. £5.00. at the door. New second Friday in the month concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Archipelago + Anna Tempest @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Jones & Dave Kelly @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 14: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Fri 14: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

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

Monday, January 18, 2016

Book Review: 30-Second Jazz - Lead editor: Dave Gelly.

My first thought upon reading the blurb attached to this 150pp tome was the oft-misquoted, apocryphal, anecdote variously attributed to Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong, "Lady, if you've gotta ask, don't mess with it!" This may have been a reasonable reply back in the swing era of the 1930s when jazz, or swing, was relatively straight forward foot-tapping stuff, albeit often at odds with what classical concertgoers had been brought up on.
The position today is more complex. Many older jazz fans often struggle to cope with this ever developing form of music and the younger, pop orientated, musician/listener encountering our music for the first time must be even more confused. After all, the mainstream media gives little or no coverage to jazz and some schools don't even have a music dept. and if they do..! What is sure is that, in the future, Jazz ain't going to have many 'Working Class Heroes".
Edited by saxophonist and award winning writer Dave Gelly MBE, with contributions from Charles Alexander; Kevin LeGendre; Chris Parker; Brian Priestly and Tony Russell, 30-Second Jazz takes the reader through 50 half a minute sections from it's African-American roots through to today's globalisation. Along the way, styles are explained, key figures recognised, ground-breaking albums acknowledged, how the musicians are doing it (improvising), instruments used and, as mentioned in the previous post, the difference between Scat and Vocalese - Ella and Dizzy cited as examples of the former and Annie Ross's Twisted re the latter (I'd have included James Moody's Moody's Mood) and much much more.
Of course 50 x 30 seconds, in this case means a lot more than 25 minutes! Most chapters you will probably want to spend 25 mins on exploring the tributaries - 3 second riffs and 3 minute improvisations.
Even a 'Johnny-Know-All' like myself discovered things I didn't know at all, Like Urzula Dudziak who mingled jazz rock with Polish folk song - I'm going to Google her  later.
There's a lot of impressive photo montages too but it's much more than a 'Coffee Table' book.
Gelly says, "My hope is that readers will have some idea of the vast variety of music which now comes under the label of 'Jazz', in particular, its long history and world-wide spread."
This should be in every reference library and school music dept.
Lance.
30-Second Jazz - Lead editor: Dave Gelly.
Published Ivy Press, February 2016. £14.99.
ISBN: 978-78240-309-8.
The book will be launched at Ronnie Scott's on February 24 and will include an hour long talk and a Q & A session with Dave himself.

1 comment :

Hugh C said...

Thanks Lance - sounds good - it's already on my wishlist!

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