Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,066 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 930 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 31) 109.

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

From This Moment On

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Fri 06: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 1/3.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Jazz Night: Bridget Metcalfe @ Saltburn House Hotel. From 6:00pm. Tickets: £40.00 (inc. a two-course meal & glass of Prosecco). Tel: 01287 658977.

Sat 07: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 2/3.
Sat 07: Ewan Bleach’s Cable Street Ragtime Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington.
12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. Superb band.
Sat 07: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 6:00pm.

Friday, October 13, 2017

CD Review: Joy Ellis - Life on Land.

Joy Ellis (voice/piano/rhodes/compositions); Rob Luft (guitar); Henrik Jensen (bass); Adam Osmianski (drums) + James Copus (flugel on tks 4 & 10); Binker Golding (tenor on tks 2 & 8).
(Review by Lance).
Ellis, a London based singer, makes an impressive debut with this F-IRE Presents album finding inspiration for her compositions from her native Haringey via photos, street art, architecture and London in general. The cultural diversity, the hectic tempo, the harshness, the loneliness, the neighbourhoods. I suppose we all could find similar inspiration in our own hometown but, with the possible exception of New York, nowhere in such varied abundance as in our capital city.
Russell actually previewed the album back in May when Ellis appeared at the Jazz Café. However, this is the finished product and it's the biz.
The voice is appealing, it's not a Summertime or Funny Valentine voice, although I'm sure it could and can be when the gig demands it, rather it's a storytelling voice and, though Norma Winstone, Annie Ross and Shirley Horn are fleetingly suggested, Ellis is none of these. She's her own woman.
As a pianist, her classical training comes through although she can still knock out the jazz - in this company it would be a case of 'put up or shut up!'
Rob Luft continues to make an impact on the guitar scene with solos that add a shaft of light to the sometimes sombre surrounds. Jensen and Osmianski give the essential support as do the Special Guests!
Special indeed! I'd intended to hold fire on this release for a couple of days but, coming on the back of last night's gig by Binker and Moses at Gosforth, I felt it was right to draw attention to Binker's presence on a couple of tracks.
The Jazzman sees Binker living the title role with his extended solo whilst, on Ellington Said, he blows another long one that many tenor players would have had to live to be a hundred to match.
Copus adds his distinctive flugel sound to a couple of tracks - I wished he'd been on more.
Where can I hear this lady?
Well, it just so happens that on Sunday, October 29 Joy Ellis is at the Empty Shop in Durham, on Tuesday, November 14, Joy is at The Fox in Hexham! Then, on Saturday, November 18, she's at The Old Fire Station in Carlisle!
As for the actual CD Launch, that takes place on November 5 (easy date to remember) at Pizza Express down in Soho.
Nice one.
Lance.
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