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Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, 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

17972 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 293 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (April 22).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

Sat 26: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 26: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Elvet Methodist Church, Durham. 7:30pm. Tickets: £12.00. + bf. Duo performance.
Sat 26: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.50.
Sat 26: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 27: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Paul Susans, Russ Morgan.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: JustKing Jones @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.50. JustKing Jones (alto sax, soprano sax); Jordan Williams (piano); Jason Clotter (bass); Malcolm Charles (drums). Ace NYC outfit!
Sun 27: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 27: Swing Manouche @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00. Tickets from 01665 711388.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Ken Marley, Russ Morgan.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

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, August 15, 2017

Book Review: Trevor Barre - Convergences, Divergences & Affinities (Compass Publishing 2017)

Not being over-familiar with the genre, free improvisation, it would be unfair of me to pass judgement on this well-written and equally well-researched historical treatise. Nevertheless, before moving on to the Press Release, I will make a few observations. Steve Beresford claims that Free Improv. is not jazz...some of it sounds like jazz but they're not playing it. This equates with what Charlie Parker said about Bebop, that it's not jazz. This has, forever, been the problem with any new art form and music in particular. The listener judges the 'new thing' using the values of its predecessor. Neither better nor worse, the key word is 'different'.
At one point, someone - it may have been the author - opines that everything that happened after the 1970s was a form of revivalism. Not just in jazz but all art forms. I'm saying that it was the author but it may actually have been someone I was discussing the book with. If it was, I apologise, but it may well be true.
A quote from the press release below is a good summing up: Written in a non-technical way, inviting newcomers to free improvisation to learn about what can initially appear a very opaque scene, as well as wanting to appeal to those older fans who like a good story, Convergences will attract, not repel.
The author's wife, when asked to define the differences between the '60s and the '70s said: "It was when trousers went straight".
The fact that a mouldy old figge [by today's standards] like me found it near-unputdownable says much for the writer. I'll certainly be looking at improv. with a less jaundiced view in the future thanks to Trevor Barre.
However, in case you think this is not without its pitfalls there are a couple of minor points I feel obliged to make.
1) An index would have greatly enhanced it as a tool of reference.
2) The regional scene isn't given quite as much attention as promised. In our neck of the woods, the North Eastern Musicians Collective and Spectro are mentioned briefly and there's an oblique reference to Sunderland. York and Leeds too are cited but I'd have liked more.
However, these are minor quibbles and - whatever your views - it's a very good read.
Lance.
----- 
(Press Release)
Sub-titled The Second Wave Of Free Improvisation In England, 1973-79, this is Barre’s second book about English Free Improvisation, and follows his Beyond Jazz, The Golden Age Of Free Music in London, 1966-72, an account of the genre’s formative years. Beyond Jazz was well received and gained many favourable reviews in the press. In particular, it seemed that the book both shone a light on, and provided a much-needed account of, a music that had previously been next to ignored in the media. It was, in fact, the first such book of its kind, surprising given the lionisation of most other genres from the ’60s and ’70s.

 If Beyond Jazz suggests a Golden Age, then Convergences can be said to cover a seven-year Silver Age, when free improv developed and changed, whilst remaining challenging and provocative, England’s very own avant-garde, which paralleled and interacted with more popular strains like punk and post-punk. A fair amount of recorded evidence exists and is discussed in the book, and we are lucky that it is complemented by the contemporary magazine Musics, which is also studied in some detail as the house organ of the “movement”. The emergence of a “second generation” is studied, and the continuing work of the first, and the formation of several musical collectives/cooperatives across the country, gets the attention it finally deserves. The figures of Steve Beresford, Lol Coxhill and Terry Day are identified as key mischief-making talents that represent the serious fun that the music provided, and get their own dedicated sections in the book.

Written in a non-technical way, inviting newcomers to free improvisation to learn about what can initially appear a very opaque scene, as well as wanting to appeal to those older fans who like a good story, Convergences will attract, not repel.

Along with Beyond Jazz, Convergences, Divergences & Affinities continues the history of this fascinating and divisive art form. The two books together chronicle the first 15 years of English free improvisation, a hard to generify area of music that is still manifesting

As well as encouraging those new to the genre to listen without prejudice, the book will prompt veteran listeners to reinvestigate its roots, dig out old recordings and venture out to witness the music live – the best way, in Barre’s view – to appreciate its joys and challenges.

About the author
Trevor Barre has been a fan of the music since the early ’70s. Since retiring as a mental health practitioner, he has found the time to translate his enthusiasms into the written word. Many moons ago, he managed a record shop, which aided his burgeoning vinyl dependence. He has lived in London for 32 years, usually within striking distance of improvised music venues, is married, and has three children.

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