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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

18037 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 458 of them this year alone and, so far, 36 this month (June 11).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free. Concert performance (open to the public)..
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Gareth John & the SOS Big Band @ The Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £25.00. CANCELLED!

Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: David Gray's Flextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £21.50. ‘Time After Time’.
Fri 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 20: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

Sat 21: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: Phoenix 4 @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington, Northumberland. 1:00-2:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £18.00. + £1.08 bf.
Sun 22: JazzMain @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

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, September 12, 2016

CD Review: Ryan Quigley – What Doesn’t Kill You

Ryan Quigley (trumpet), Paul Booth (tenor saxophone, alto flute), Steve Hamilton (piano, Fender Rhodes), Michael Janisch (double bass) & Clarence Penn (drums)
(Review by Russell)
Prologue introduces Ryan Quigley. A short solo trumpet feature, the quality immediately apparent. Recorded in July 2014, Quigley’s new album What Doesn’t Kill You boasts the finest of line-ups. Joining the band leader is Paul Booth, reeds, Steve Hamilton, piano and Fender Rhodes, record label boss Michael Janisch, double bass and the brilliant American drummer Clarence Penn.

Doctor Stage, all eight minutes and twenty seconds of it, sizzles from note one. Tenor, of the searing variety, sets a killer pace and Quigley responds in style driven along by a bass and drums engine room working overtime. Ten tracks, bookended by solo trumpet pieces (Prologue and Epilogue), total some fifty-six minutes. Quigley wrote all ten compositions with one exception – Janisch’s Intro to Hymn to Their Homeland. All of the tunes on this  Whirlwind Recordings’ CD exhibit strong melodies, a cohesive, collective sound, and the   assured improvisational flights one would associate with Quigley and his band mates.

A wistful, neo-classical Fire Eyes gives way to the title track; Steve Hamilton’s brooding Fender Rhodes with something of a NYC downtown feel to it, Paul Booth’s fully formed tenor playing featuring prominently. Quigley’s inspiration, or starting point, is, perhaps, a love of the hard bop canon and the later contemplative explorations of John Coltrane and others. Two superb tracks – The Long Journey Home and Hymn to Their Homeland – are cornerstones of the album: the former roaring out of Messengers’ territory with Clarence Penn in commanding form behind a trumpet/tenor joust, the latter hears considered keys  from Steve Hamilton.

Say What You See is a penultimate tune blow out. Fifties hard bop is given a contemporary reading, the icons of music (Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson) would have welcomed as equals to the stage Messrs Quigley, Booth, Hamilton, Janisch and Penn.                    
Russell

What Doesn’t Kill You by Ryan Quigley is available now on Whirlwind Recordings (WR4691).

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