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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

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

Thursday, March 03, 2016

CD Review: Jeff Williams – Outlier

Jeff Williams (drums, percussion & Fender Rhodes), Josh Arcoleo (tenor saxophone), Phil Robson (guitar), Kit Downes (piano & Fender Rhodes) & Sam Lasserson (double & electric basses)
(Review by Russell)
Outlier is Jeff Williams’ third release as leader on the Whirlwind Recordings label. All of the compositions are by the bandleader.  Williams is the one fifth American in this Anglo -American quintet. The four sidemen are in demand individuals leading bands or working in others’ outfits and stacking up recording credits along the way. This 2015 recording on Michael Janisch’s Whirlwind Recordings label is released next week with a clutch of gigs beginning on Sunday (March 6) at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.
Outlier, the eponymous opening track, simmers and swirls with Phil Robson’s guitar solo giving way to Kit Downes’ Fender Rhodes as Josh Arcoleo’s taut, writhing tenor rides on top of Williams’ constantly shifting cymbal work. Robson returns, Downes’ chords direct the ensemble with bassist Sam Lasserson right there.
Jeff Williams reveals The Interloper ‘Reminds me of Thelonious Monk.’ It is a danceable Pork Pie of a tune, without a doubt. The drummer’s forward motion, the pianist’s angular, swinging logic, Monk Lives!
Williams refers to rhythmic patterns, visual images and dream world inspirations. Dream Visitor, the composer suggests, owes something to electric Miles; Fender Rhodes feature, Lasserson plays electric bass but the tune takes on its own distinctive character. Williams makes candid personal statements in the CDs liner notes: Meeting a Stranger followed by New and Old are markedly different to the earlier pieces. Ballad-like, the former heard on the album Jazzblues, reworked on Outlier because, as the composer writes: they interpret it so beautifully, the latter number refers to his father’s illness and their relationship - new and old, child and father, the role of the carer, their changing roles. 
Hermeto expresses Williams’ love of the music of Hermeto Pascoal. The drummer heard, then met the Brazilian in the 1980s (Pascoal toured Britain at around this time including a concert at Durham University). This tune is not an attempt to imitate his music; it’s more of a love letter. Great playing form the quintet on this one.
The set closer – Oddity – unleashes the bandleader. Seemed time for solo drums Williams writes, just for textural variation. Williams has assembled a talented band of musicians. It is to his credit that he has embraced their abilities making for an excellent recording.
Russell.                                                           
Jeff Williams’ Outlier is on Whirlwind Recordings WR 4684 with a release date of Friday, March 11.       

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