Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18383 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 247 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 17 ), 57

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

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

CD Review: Monocled Man – We Drift Meridian

Rory Simmons (trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards, guitar), Chris Montague (guitar) & Jon Scott (drums) + Emilia Mårtensson (vocals) & Ed Begley (drums)
(Review by Russell)
Simmons layers-up haunting electronic and acoustic landscapes…associated with these far-flung [islands and atolls]. So says the publicity blurb about the new CD by Monocled Man. Multi-instrumentalist Rory Simmons’ distant, troubled trumpet sound stretches out across an expanse of ocean joining modular synths, sequencers and chopped audio. 
This second album from Simmons and regular collaborators Chris Montague, guitar, and Jon Scott, drums, develops improvisations from predetermined, home-studio-produced sonic environments. Leftfield? Cutting-edge? Or, simply, something other than jazz? Monocled men, as they call themselves, work in contemporary jazz, recording and touring in others’ bands.
Chris Montague is a fine guitarist, Jon Scott an accomplished drummer. This new CD We Drift Meridian drafts in Emilia Mårtensson and Ed Begley to contribute vocals on tracks two, four and six of ten. Multi-layered, densely textured, this Whirlwind Recordings’ CD will find little resonance with a jazz audience. Its (target?) audience is likely to be found in the industrial, post-prog club scene.                   
We Drift Meridian by Monocled Man is released this Friday, 23 September on Michael Janisch’s Whirlwind Recordings (WR 4692). Servants Jazz Quarters, London hosts the album launch on Tuesday 4 October with a support set from Chris Sharkey.   
Russell.
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive