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Bebop Spoken There

Francis Tulip: ''Music speaks louder than words''. (Jazzwise, 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

17,550 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 514 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (June 28).

From This Moment On ...

JULY 2025

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Hopper-Watson Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £10.00. + £1.00. bf.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 10: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Soloists, Orchestras & Hot Fives.
Thu 10: Side Café Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 11: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00. A Bishop Auckland Jazz promotion. New venue (second Friday in the month)!
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Beehive, Earsdon NE25 0SZ. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Fiona Finden Jazz Express @ Flash House Brewery, North Shields NE30 1DS. 8:00pm. Free.

Sat 12: Jazz Stage @ Mouth of the Tyne Festival. From 12 noon. Free. Vieux Carré Jazzmen (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Mississippi Dreamboats (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Stage adjacent to Tynemouth Priory.
Sat 12: Making Music Seminar: Latin American Music v. Music of Latin America @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00pm. £15.00. (£5.00. online). Jason Holcomb, Alix Shepherd & Carlos Luis Rivera.
Sat 12: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Lovaine Community Garden, North Shields. 7:00pm (doors 6:40pm). £6.00. Limited places, booking essential (via the Community Garden website). BYOF&D.
Sat 12: Hot Club du Nord @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Hall Two.
Sat 12: Sleep Suppressor @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm.
Sat 12: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle.8:00pm. Free. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 13: Jazz Stage @ Mouth of the Tyne Festival. From 11:00am. Free. Trilogy of Four (11:00am); East Coast Jazzmen (12:10pm); Delta Prophets Trio (1:20pm); House of the Black Gardenia (2:30pm); Mouth of the Tyne All Stars (3:40pm). Stage adjacent to Tynemouth Priory.
Sun 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free. ‘The Bandstand Sessions’.
Sun 13: Julie Dexter @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:30pm (doors). £20.00. ‘The Cluny Matinee Jazz Club’.
Sun 13: ’58 Jazz Collective, Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 2:00pm. Tea Dance. SOLD OUT! A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 13: Ferg Kilsby @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Kilsby (trumpet, flugelhorn); Luis Verde (alto sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Hirst (drums).
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Sloth Racket @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 14: Brass Bash @ Hardwick Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Mon 14: Brass Bash @ The Story, Mount Oswald, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.

Tue 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Sluice. Tel: 0191 237 3697. 12:30pm. ‘July Jazz Barbecue’. Tickets: £15.00.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ Hackworth Park, Shildon, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ The Witham, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Julian Lage Trio @ 1856 Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm . Lage (guitar); Jorge Roeder (double bass); Joey Barron (drums).
Tue 15: Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra @ The Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

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

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Lauren Kinsella Ensemble @ Black Swan Arts Centre, Newcastle – September 8

 Lauren Kinsella (voice); Tom Challenger (sax); Dan Nicholls (keyboards, electronics); Conor Chaplin (bass); Simon Roth (drums)
(Review/ Photos by Ken Drew).
A mid-week gig, part of Jazz North east’s ‘Women Make Music’ series.
Following a quiet intro from Challenger on piano, Kinsella begins to sing, reminding us instantly what we like about her voice and the instant stage presence she has. Then the full band join in to establish themselves, giving us time to contemplate just what is ahead.   A short piece, but welcome nonetheless.
Next a voice introduction (vocalese style) accompanied by Challenger’s sax – what a nice pairing that is, with a somewhat Nordic flavour to it with, dare I say it?, a hint of Bjork’s vocal tones, yet blissfully sublime. Then the full quartet join in with a gently lilting rhythm quietly supplied by Chaplin on bass together with Roth on drums, providing a simple yet lively rhythm giving way to a solo section from piano with the whole ensemble then completing the piece.  After just two pieces, we were all comfortable with the sound, and listening with relish for the next interpretation to unfold.

Then more vocalese - or rather scat singing interspersed with a sung rendition of what would otherwise be a spoken text. Kinsella noted that she had written the text for all these pieces, apart from the last in set 1 which were taken from David T(??) diaries.  Next up was a quick lyrical scat-plus-sung text with a rather bouncy rhythm. And to close, a piece with a quiet start building dynamically. A typical Kinsella composition and voicing / delivery with good contributions from the rest of the band.

The interval gave us time to reflect on Kinsella’s vocal ability. Purity, flexibility, accuracy and clarity. Plus pitch control - perfectly landing in the right place with a well-controlled glide-path.

Set 2 started with their take on Paul Motion’s Once Round the Park. Quite an extended piece nicely done in Kinsella’s style.
Then a vocal-plus-sax improv with scat, giving way to a sung text subtly accompanied by ‘noises off’ – Nicholls turning to his Laptop to provide a nicely subtle and gentle background ‘audio wash’ underneath the voice/sax pairing. The subject it seems was that of Kinsella at 8 years old !  The next piece started with another interesting rhythm, with a hint of a Tom Waites style (well, in my mind anyway !).  The sax was soft and lilting, reminiscent of Bobby Wellins’ sound in Tracey’s “Under Milk Wood”.  This then segued through a piano solo with nice use of the keyboard’s voicings, to another lilting vocal from Kinsella mixed with more vocalese/scat.

The final piece started with improv’d sax with piano together with gentle accompaniment from bass & drums, building more and more with stunning  vocals, then a fine sax solo followed by an equally superb piano solo.  An interesting piece with a good feel to it amounting to a 10 min encore of superb musical composition and ability.

And in conclusion - Kinsella noted that most of these pieces were a result of a commission by Marsden Jazz Festival. What a delight for us that it was re-staged for us in Newcastle.  Yet whilst the audience numbers were fewer than expected, the final comment from Lauren was reassuring, even uplifting ‘Newcastle listens to the music, giving a good vibe [to us] on the stage".

1 comment :

JC said...

What a sublime concert this was!
I had read very positive reviews of earlier gigs involving Lauren Kinsella (the emphasis is on the first syllable not the second) in Newcastle so I was keen to hear her and her band, and the fact she is from Dublin added extra interest. However I never expected the gig to be as good as it was.
The pure sound of Kinsella's voice and vocal embellishments, the quality of the band and the soundscapes that they created together were breathtaking.
She has worked in a number of duo formats so the ease with which she slipped into duets with particular instruments within an overall band piece was fascinating.
But it is the poetic quality of the lyrical improvisation that is most enthralling. Vocalising sounds and scatting demand considerable jazz singing abilities but to sing abstract poetic lines that 'fit' without sounding just random or meaningless is a special skill. Lauren Kinsella said a little about her composing inspirations during the gig mentioning the influence of David Henry Thoreau, Patti Smith and Simon Armitage and in other work she has also drawn from other poets like Ted Hughes and W.B. Yeats. However, it is something she said in an interview that is revealing of where her lyrical inspiration comes from: 'My Dad owns a bookshop (and) I worked in the second-hand department...you'd open a box of books and get to look at people's lives. I like improvising with poems because the nature of their structure lends itself to music. I look at some words or passages and it jumps back at me as sound'.
At times the overall effect of the words and music recalled the abstract and mysterious quality of Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill so I was intrigued that one piece was a Paul Motian tune that Kinsella had added lyrics to with the repeated incantation: 'Breathe like a tree. Sway sideways in motion'.
A special gig to remember.

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