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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

17,533 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 497 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (June 23).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Bal Bruch Social Dance @ As You Like It, Sandyford, Newcastle. 12:30pm. Free. Dance event with Hot Club de Heaton performing live (2:00-3:00pm). A ‘Jar on the Bar’ event.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

JULY 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. 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

Thursday, January 18, 2018

CD Review: Kate McGarry - The Subject Tonight is Love

Kate McGarry (vocals); Gary Versace (piano/keys/organ/accordion); Keith Ganz (guitars) + Obed Calvaire (drums on Whiskey); Ron Miles (trumpet on All You Need is Love).
(Review by Lance).
Until this moment in time, to me, Secret Love meant either Doris Day or Carmen McRae. Our girl Zoe Gilby does a very fine version of incorporating the two but now, Kate McGarry gives us another take and it's a good one!
Seven critically acclaimed albums to her name, a Grammy nomination and 4-star reviews in Downbeat, tell us that this is no new kid on the block. A voice that explores the meanings behind the words, that fiddles with the tune, more Carmen than Doris but tonally not close to either. She composes too.
Climb Down/Whiskey You're the Devil, an exploration of her family tree, includes such lines as;
The roads your horses plowed (sic) we have sowed.
They turned to Christ, they turned to drink, they turned to skin and bones.
It's the church or the pub, choose your cages.
Husband Ganz plays guitar and had a hand in the arrangements as well as providing, along with Versace, solid support.
Versace also has many solos that rubber stamps his credentials. Gone With the Wind sees Kate moving into Ella/Anita territory and maybe, just maybe, takes it to an even higher level.
My  Funny Valentine, like Secret Love, pays no homage to past versions and lifts the Rodgers and Hart classic from the Overdone File to the Exciting New File.
What a Difference a Day Made - a great version with Versace on organ. - challenges the 'Divine One's' version. 
The final blast on All You Need is Love is so good that, at first, you wish you hadn't had so long to wait! However, listening again, you realise that this is what it's all building up to. After all, the album is titled, The Subject Tonight is love* and that is a subject every person on the planet knows about!
It's quite a beautiful record and I'm amazed that her name isn't better known on this side of the Atlantic. But, as I've said before, there does seem to be a jazz singer on every block in every corner of the jazz world. 
McGarry has the edge on most, she could work jazz rooms, folk festivals, I think she could slot into either or maybe, given the parochial attitudes of both, neither.
That would be a great loss for both communities.
Lance
^The subject tonight is love
And for tomorrow night as well,
As of a matter of fact
I know of no better topic,
For us to discuss,
Until we die.
(Persian poet & mystic, Hafiz - 14th century)

1 comment :

Patti said...

This sounds wonderful, Lance - I reckon I'll add it to the order list! And those 14thC Persian poets certainly had a way with romantic words!

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