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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.

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: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Darlington. 12 noon. Free (donations).
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: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

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

Monday, December 25, 2017

CD Review: Amy London - Bridges

(Review by Lance).
More recently, Amy London's main project was, and probably still is, a Lambert, Hendricks, Ross style vocal group - the Royal Bopsters - with whom she recorded an impressive album in 2015. Downbeat gave it four and a half stars. 
Bridges is her fourth solo album although in actual fact, as the material is being released retrospectively, from a discographical point of view it is her first. I'm not sure as to why it took so long for it to be made public. It would surely have been criminal to allow these performances to fester in the vaults any longer. 
Fortunately, they were unearthed and, thanks to the restoration and remixing by Alan Douches and David Kowalski respectively, the music was saved and, with 2017 ticking away, arrived just in time to find a place on my CDs of the Year listing even though it was recorded  ± 30 years ago!
Space precludes a track by track analysis suffice to say Ms. London covers all the bases from Ross-like vocalese blasts on Love For Sale, Turrentine's Sugar or The Night Has a Thousand Eyes, to the sadness of Johnny Mandel's You Are There and the poignant poetry of Langston Hughes' Dream. 
Oscar Brown Jr's Strong Man written originally for Abbey Lincoln is given another quality work out here. The gentle swing of Harold Arlen's A Sleepin' Bee and the lowdown bluesy feel of Moanin' in the Morning add to the variety. Her own composition, This Time features Bob Mintzer blowing great tenor (does he ever do any other? Certainly not on this album!)
For me, the highlight of an album full of highlights is Oscar Pettiford's Bohemia After Dark. One of the best vocalese solos by anyone ever! Amy also contributed to the lyrics.
Devil May Care has Darman Meader blowing 'Blue Note' tenor, a fine piano solo by Peter Madsen and our singer taking the melody on an unusual, but logical, journey.
I'm in the Mood For Love/Moody's Mood For Love. Meader blows Moody type tenor before Amy goes into the Eddie Jefferson version and Meader sings a few himself.
You've Changed brings in Dr. Lonnie Smith on Hammond giving the singer some big fat chords as she emotes on Carl Fischer's dramatic tale of a fading love. Nice guitar from Jack Wilkins too.
The good doctor switches to piano for Coltrane's Naima (lyrics by Jon Hendricks) Franceschini's tenor solo retains 'Trane's mode. There's a choir (multi-tracked Amy's?) and, in truth, is perhaps the weakest track of the album but that's only because the others are so strong.
Lance.
Contact.
Amy London (vocal/percussion); 
Tks 1-8: Fred Hersch (piano/background vocals); Harvie S (bass); Victor Lewis (drums); Bob Mintzer (tenor); Cyra Baptista (percussion). March 1987.
Tks 9-13: Peter Madsen (piano); Dean Johnson (bass); Eliot Zigmund (drums); Darmon Meader (tenor/vocals); Byron Stripling (trumpet). April 1990. 
Tks 14 & 15: Dr. Lonnie Smith (piano/B3); Jack Wilkins (guitar); Harvie S (bass); Akira Tano (drums); Bobby Franceschini (tenor). June 1984.

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