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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

18018 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 339 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (May 7).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Tue 13: ???

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Recital (stage 2): Leah Kirk (voice) @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 3:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 14: Jerron Paxton @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £24.20. Excellent country blues multi-instrumentalist.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. BACK IN BUSINESS, all welcome!

Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: The Greatest in Jazz - Guitarists.
Thu 15: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 15: New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). John Garner & John Pope.

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Sophie Speed with the Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ Longframlington Memorial Hall. 7:00pm (doors). Tickets: £12.00. from 01665 570984.
Fri 16: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 16: Peter Donegan & Anthony Donegan @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. ‘Lonnie Donegan - The Stories’.

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

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

Saturday, August 27, 2016

CD Review:Alexander Stewart - I Thought About You

Alexander Stewart (vcl) w. big band inc. Rob Barron (pno); Rob Anstey (bs); Andy Chapman (dms); Freddy Gavita (tpt); Andy Panayi (alt); Callum Au, Alistair White (tmb) as well as the City of Prague Philharmonic on 7 tracks.
(Review by Lance).
I've been a fan of Alexander Stewart since that night back in 2009 when I first heard him at London's The Spice of Life. I was knocked out then and I've been increasingly impressed by his progress.
This new CD - perhaps his most ambitious yet - rubberstamps my early judgement.
Yes, he's still a crooner, but he's today's crooner, albeit one who still looks over his shoulder and says, "If it was good enough then, then it's good enough now - if I do it my way!"
Stevie Wonder's Part Time Lover kicks things off with a wonderful Au trombone solo slotting in between the vocal choruses.
Willie Dixon's I Just Want to Make Love to You swings like Sinatra/Basie may have done on this one.
I Thought About You is rapidly becoming another Summertime but, with a difference, it's a tune you never get tired of hearing and, dare I say it? Jimmy Van Heusen was, with all due respect, more hip than either of the Gershwins. People forget, or don't realise,  the Gershwin songs we hear today are far removed from the composer's original intent which was schmaltzy Broadway show tunes. Jazz musicians and singers took them to a higher level. Freddy Gavita blows trumpet here and the symphony squad from Prague saw effectively away in the background.
Brother Can You Spare a Dime? - a Yip Harburg tune, written in the post World War I depression days - may seem a strange choice (apart from being a great song) but in today's turbulent times who knows that it won't become appropriate once more? Hopefully not, but this is the best version since Bing!
Human, the first of 4 originals by the singer, shows that he's no slouch as a composer/lyricist - Gavita pours some flugelhorn icing on the cake.
The Look of Love tends to slot into the easy listening genre (like most Bacharach/David) until Andy Panayi blows cool sax.
How Glad I Am brings back memories of listening to pirate radio stations in the 1960's and feeling as though I was part of a revolution even though the nearest they got to jazz was Kenny Ball!
Speed of Darkness, another original by Stewart, in conjunction with longtime collaborator Alex Webb. Tommy Emmerton provides the guitar blast.
The Sweetest Feeling, a Jackie Wilson classic hits the spot.
Fragments, another original, has a Gregory Porter feeling about it and Stewart doesn't need a funny hat! Listen to the string writing!
Suitcase of Dreams. A superb, relaxed original with Stewart floating above piano, bass, guitar and drums. A love song worthy of the GASbook or it's British equivalent. Superb!
A House is Not a Home. More Bacharach/David - they can play this in my lift anytime.
Alexander Stewart is a voice to be reckoned with. and an album that will certainly figure in my Vocal Discs of the Year 2016.
Lance.
Released Sept. 9 - pre-order.

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