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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: 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 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Friday, June 17, 2016

CD Review: Clare Teal w. The Hallé Orchestra - Twelve O'Clock Tales

(Review by Lance).
Ahead of Teal's Doris Day tribute at York's Theatre Royal (tomorrow, June 18) comes this timely reminder of what a class act Clare Teal is. Few singers on either side of the Atlantic can handle a lyric as effectively as she can. Put Teal in front of the Hallé Orchestra, give her some arrangements by Guy Barker, Grant Windsor and Jason Rebello, have a few jazzmen hovering in the wings and the ingredients are all there for a first class album.
It Might as Well be Spring - arranged by Barker and inspired by an Elaine Delmar/Brian Dee arrangement. What a performance!
Feeling Good - arranged by Windsor, sax solo by Dixon.
Wild is the Wind - arranged by Barker, trumpet solo by Mike Lovatt,
Sans Souci - arranged by Barker. A Peggy Lee/Johnny Burke opus.
I'll Never Stop Loving You - arranged Barker, piano solo by Rebello. Originally recorded by Doris Day in the film Love me or Leave me . Teal gives a delicious sample of what the York audience can expect tomorrow!
La Belle Dame Sans Regret - arranged by Rebello and composed by Sting. Rebello solos and has a duo vocal moment. There's also a flute solo by Katherine Baker.
Lush Life - arranged by Barker, Teal gives the Strayhorn classic new life.
Never Again - arranged Windsor. A piece by Tim Rice and Alan Menkin that   brings Teal's emotive side to the fore.
Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most - arranged by Barker. A masterly setting that gives Teal the perfect surrounds for her reflective interpretation. A sympathetic arrangement worthy of Nelson Riddle or Gordon Jenkins.
Always True to You in my Fashion - arranged by Barker. One of the classic versions of this Cole Porter tune was by Peggy Lee and the George Shearing Quintet. Barker has used that version to fashion this arrangement and Teal does Peggy proud.
Whole (It Isn't Like Me) - arranged Windsor. A Teal original in collaboration with Windsor and Amanda Louise Field.
Secret Love - arranged Barker back to Doris for perhaps her most famous hit. An elaborate explorative arrangement that reveals a rarely heard verse.
The Folks Who Live on the Hill - arranged Barker. Forever associated with Peggy Lee, this version is up there too!
Paradisi Carousel - arranged Barker. Another Teal/Field original.
Could well be my vocal record of the year!
Lance.
Clare Teal (vcl) w. Hallé Orchestra cond. Stephen Bell + Mike Lovatt (tpt); Iain Dixon, Rob Buckland; Carl Raven, Jim Muirhead, Valerie Stark (saxes); Gordon Campbell (tmb); Jason Rebello (pno); Mitch Dalton (gtr); Jeremy Brown (bs); Matt Skelton (dms).

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