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

18361 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 215 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 8 ), 25

From This Moment On ...

March

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free

Thu 12: Boomslang @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Fri 13: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm . £9.00.
Fri 13: The SH#RP Collective @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Soothsayers + Rookie Numbers @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.

Sat 14: The Too Bad Jims @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. R&B.
Sat 14: NUJO @ Venue, Newcastle University Students’ Union. Time TBC. £15.00. supporter; £10.00. standard; £5.00. student. Seated event.

Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: The Too Bad Jims @ The Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. £12.00. R&B.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Rebecca Poole @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Poole w. Dean Stockdale & Ken Marley. CANCELLED!

Mon 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Scotty Adair (drums).

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, June 29, 2017

CD Review: Jan Harbeck's Live Jive Jungle - Elevate

Jan Harbeck (tenor); Thor Madsen (guitar); Jeppe Skovbakke (bass); Peter Leth (drums).
(Review by Lance).
The aim, the blurb says, is to get the jazz audience (back) on the dance floor with these charming, riff-based compositions, beats and grooves. Given the right exposure, Live Jive Jungle can't fail.
Given the right exposure - that's the rub...
In Newcastle, I guess, it would be Hoochie Coochie or, maybe, downstairs at The Globe. Few other local venues offer jazz dancing space for visiting bands (somebody correct me if I'm wrong!).
So, perhaps, the best option is to roll back the carpet, crank up the Vitrola, invite your hippest (I use the word advisedly) neighbours around to shake it about - checking on your building insurance first - and enjoy this slice of Danish.
The compositions are all by Harbeck who also blows gutsy tenor. Madsen pedals his way through some funky solos, Skovbakke holds it all together whilst Leth solos like a 21st century Krupa.
I'm going to be playing this a lot more often than some of the better-known offerings that cross my path.
Harbeck is an es (Danish for ace - tks Google) tenor player and the other guys are also es men.
This is just so lovely. It's dance music but it's not rock & roll, and nor is it schmaltzy 1930's Palais slow, slow, quick, quick, slow. It's a combination of all these elements but presented for the contemporary scene of today.
However, in case you think it's unromantic - just listen to Throughshine. This is a ballad performance that must surely be comparable to the one where a Danish jazz critic compared Harbeck's soul to that of Ben Webster. 
If Throughshine is playing and you've made contact - cancel the taxi!
Release date July 28.
Label: Stunt
Distributer: Discovery.
Lance.
YouTube.

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