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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

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: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

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, April 24, 2017

CD Review: Louis Sclavis, Dominique Pifarely and Vincent Courtois - Asian Fields Variations .

Louis Sclavis (clarinets), Dominique Pifarely (violin), Vincent Courtois (cello).
(Review by Steve T).
What ECM do consistently well is mix Jazz with classical music and this is no exception, but rather than being Jazz with a hint of classical, it's more classical with a bit of Jazz, particularly on Asian Fields, with impressive solos on clarinet and violin, though this is by no means stronger than the rest of the album.
Arriving at Jazz through Black American Music, my interest in classical music is minimal, restricted to a few composers, though French composers are amongst my favourites, and generally an orchestra rather than a smaller ensemble. Clarinet, violin and cello suggests chamber music but Sclavis claims there's more to it than that and I tend to agree.
The three of them have played together as duos, a trio and part of larger ensembles since 1987. As a trio they re-launched in 2015 at the Vaulx Jazz Festival near Lyon, indicating that Jazz is viewed very differently on the continent as much as the eclecticism of Jazz Festivals nowadays.
The album is consistently good throughout, a view shared by my various passengers through its regulation three spins, but I doubt I'll pull it out again, which doesn't have to be a bad thing.
If this is how you like your Jazz, or for that matter your classical, it's been out since March.
Steve T.
Hugh's link (see comments).

2 comments :

Hugh said...

Nice review, Steve. IIRC, Lance gave me one of his CDs to review a few years ago - sounds in a similar vein. I was listening recently to last weeks "Jazz Now" on catch-up and in an interview John Etheridge made some interesting comments regarding the ECM sound. You can catch it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08mdcj4 at about 59:30

Steve T said...

Thanks Hugh, I'll give it a listen. Number one wife may or may not let me go to see Etheridge with Soft Machine this sat (make no mistake, I'm the boss). Should be interesting with the recent death of another one time Softs guitarist Allan Holdsworth.
I've seen Etheridge doing Zappa, Django and Hendrix with Nigel Kennedy and classical with John Williams so he's pretty versatile.
Last time I saw another great British guitarist - Jim Mullen - he was less than complimentary about ECM.

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