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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Parish Hall, St Barnabas’ Church, Rowlands Gill. 7:30pm. £10.00. BYOB (tea & coffee available), raffle. Proceeds to St Barnabas’ Church. Performance feat. Shayo (vocals).
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Jo Harrop @ the Gala Studio, Friday July 28

(Review & photos by Brian Ebbatson/Collage by Lance).
The Park and Ride bus at Sniperley pulled away without Jo as she was helping some European visitors buy tickets, but this was the only mishap of the day. Jo still arrived well in time to quickly rehearse the one number not on the programme with fellow musicians Paul Edis on piano, Andy Champion on double bass and Russ Morgan on drums, before taking a quick break as the Gala Studio filled up in anticipation of some sparkling summer afternoon jazz.
“Jo Harrop is a young jazz singer with a rich, captivating voice, who takes on classic jazz standards with ease” is how the Royal Albert Hall website describes Jo. Such is the range of her repertoire,
Jordi Jo (as she’s been known since her student days) only repeated two numbers from the previous gigs. Hearing familiar, less familiar, and one new number we were treated to yet another outstanding hour of music.
Andy opened Taking a Chance on Love, Jo’s voice and phrasing clear and precise, Paul’s lively solo backed by Andy’s tight bass notes and Russ’s smooth brushes, Andy also soloing before Jo brought the song to a close. Don’t Be That Way followed, Jo sounding like one of her inspirations, Peggy Lee. Another carefully built solo by Paul a foretaste of more to come - classic piano jazz - as the band settled in for the rest of the concert. Jo finished on a deep mellow tone as the band closed out.

Bossa Nova followed with Jobim’s Once I Loved. Jo’s voice starts light and clear as she warms into the song; the band is really working as a tight unit behind her. Andy’s solo is crisp and resonant, reminiscent of Charlie Haden behind his perspex screen, and Jo final chorus is deep and warm, at times almost husky, as she reaches the final lines: “Love is the saddest thing, when it goes away”.
Nat King Cole is another inspiration for Jo and the next number, Jerome Kern’s Pick Yourself Up, pays appropriate homage. Paul is clearly enjoying the space given him, Russ’s cymbals ringing behind him, leading to a great drum solo before Jo closes out.

The pace changes for April in Paris, taken faster than Ella and the Count, but no less precise in Jo’s phrasing and clarity of voice. Another sparkling piano solo, then Andy’s bass brings Jo back to the final verses and chorus …. “no-one can ever reprise …”.
End Of The Affair is a gem. Jo has recorded this song with composer-pianist Alex Webb’s Copasetics on their 2016 CD Call Me Lucky (see 7 July 2016 review on this site,). On first hearing, the song is Jobimesque, the opening almost sounding like Corcovado, but it quickly establishes its own identity, while keeping the light melodic touch of the Brazilian master’s compositions. Jo sings it with feeling and confidence and the band play as if it is just another familiar standard. It’s a tribute to Webb’s composition and Jo and the band’s interpretation that it fits so smoothly into an otherwise all-American programme. You can hear Jo singing it with Alex Webb on YouTube.

Jo and the band are now pushed to finish the programme, but still do justice to all the numbers. Paul starts an extended version of Ellington’s I Ain’t Got Nothing But The Blues as if it was Rockin’ In Rhythm’, stretching out to cover almost all the notes on his keyboard. Jo’s voice is deep into the blues and the band really in the groove behind her. The pace slows with Brandt and Haymes’ 1952 number That’s All. Jo sings the delicate melody and lyrics beautifully, “If you’re wondering what I ask in return dear, you’ll be glad to know that my demand is small – that’s all”. You Turned the Tables on Me follows. Jo’s sings the lyrics with feeling and sincerity - “You turned the tables on me. I can’t believe it’s true. … I got was coming to me”.
We’re all checking our watches and wondering if they’ll complete the programme, but now Jo treats us to another gem, the little known but beautiful You Taught My Heart To Sing by McCoy Tyner and Sammy Kahn, which Jo discovered on a Dianne Reeves CD. But not quite the end. As the clock ticks past the hour Jo, Paul, Andy and Russ launch into a high-paced rendering of Cole Porter’s I Get A Kick Out Of You, an appropriate finale whose message the 100-capacity audience enthusiastically reflect back to singer and band.
Brian E.

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