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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

1803759 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 480 of them this year alone and, so far, 58 this month (June 18).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

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.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

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

Thursday, May 25, 2017

CD Review: NYSQ - Sleight of Hand

Tim Armacost (tenor/soprano); David Berkman (piano); Daiki Yasukagawa (bass); Gene Jackson (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Another gem from Michael Janisch's  Whirlwind Recordings. And a 9 carat gem it is too! 
Mal Waldron's classic Soul Eyes kicks things off. Armacost is my kind of tenor player playing with a fluency that matches any of his historically better known predecessors. Chorus after chorus he soars, flying high, each one better than the one before then it's over, 'cept it isn't. Berkman takes control and the tension doesn't flag, Yasukagawa doesn't drop the baton either.
Wow! And this is just the first track.
As the band name implies (New York Standards Quartet) this isn't a self-indulgent collection of'originals' penned by some callow youth, but a choice selection of not overworked themes.
Ask me Now - my favourite of all the Monk ballads I've heard - moves along a tad faster than is usual for this most wonderful of tunes and is nicely taken out by Jackson who display's his prodigious technique as the track fades...
In a Sentimental Mood is another fave of mine - if, in the unlikely scenario of Armacost phoning me from New York and asking me to suggest some standards for his forthcoming album, the chances are we'd concur on at least 50% of the choices. Certainly on this one.
Sleight of Hand is a different circle of fifths. An 'original' by Berkman it is described as an irresistibly playful take on But Not For me. Can't argue with that! 
I Fall in Love Too Easily - maybe I do as I'm rapidly falling in love with this album! Armacost on soprano plays scant regard to the melody yet it is always there with the rhythm guys huffing and puffing behind him adding to the overall before fading gently in love like me.
This I Dig of You. Hank Mobley's masterpiece is given a work out that I'm sure the composer would have given the thumbs up to. The double bass intro also earned a few [Ray] Brownie points. As always, the tenorman takes it up, down and round about whilst Berkman makes me think I'd like a trio album by him. Then Jackson boots it home.
Detour Ahead's a number many chanteuses have done proud although, apparently Herb Ellis, the composer, made the definitive version. Well I haven't heard Herb's recording so, until then, this will do for me!
Lover Man. Forget the poignant emotive versions of this tune by Parker, Billie, Sarah and others. Berkman and Armacost aren't tender lover men they're virile studs strutting their stuff - vestal virgins stay indoors tonight don't go near the coast! (apologies for sexist remark).
Can't recommend this too highly!
Lance.
Whirlwind Recordings WR4704.

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