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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

1803759 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 480 of them this year alone and, so far, 58 this month (June 18).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

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: 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.

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

Sunday, March 18, 2018

CD Review: Erin McDougald - Outside the Soiree

Erin McDougald (vocals, bandleader); Dave Liebman (soprano, tenor); Tom Harrell (trumpet, flugelhorn); Mark Sherman (vibes, percussion) Rodney Green; (drums, cymbals); Chembo Corniel (percussion); Rob Block (piano, guitars); Dan Block (alto sax, flute, clarinet); Cliff Schmitt (bass)
(Review by Ann Alex)
‘You’ll like this’ said Lance, and I certainly did. It even has a jazzy version of one of my favourite folk songs as the last track, and big hitter musicians such as Liebman and Harrell on saxes and trumpet. It’s very much our singer’s individual take on a wide range of songs, including a cha cha version of Brother Can You Spare a Dime and a rhythmic 5/4 timing for the ballad Don’t Wait Up For Me. Mostly standards, some lesser known, and one original number, the title track,  from Ms McDougald; Outside The Soiree.
This is our singer’s fourth studio album, with the theme of outsiders, people who are not in the majority, independent, lonely in love, bucking the trends. If that sounds ponderous, the music isn’t, it manages to be serious but with a light touch, always enjoyable. Ms McDougald is Chicago-based and has appeared with many elite jazz performers at venues from Chicago to Paris, including the Chicago Jazz festival and Le Bilboquet in Paris.

Don’t Be On The Outside begins the CD, quirky, rhythmic chords, delightfully toned clear dictioned vocals, with keys, trumpet, vibes, and worthwhile lyrics ‘Take a fool’s advice, it’s worth the sacrifice, to stay on your side’. Begin the Beguine is slow with rippling piano and swishing cymbals. The Man with the Horn is slow and sensuous, led by tenor sax; Midnight Sun bounces along with changing time signatures and clever solos from soprano sax and vibes. There is effective pairing of songs on 2 of the tracks: When the World Was Young and The Ballad of All the Sad Young Men and then Linger Awhile and Avalon. This serves to contrast the themes of the songs, and shows much thought in their selection. Unusual Way gives us a smooth haunting clarinet. Other tracks not mentioned are The Masquerade Is Over; Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most. And it’s all rounded up with the folk song, in which the singer admits her faults disarmingly, The Parting Glass.

The release of the CD was celebrated with a concert on McDougald’s birthday on March16, which you’ve missed, but it was in Michigan USA anyway. Released by Miles High Records.
Ann Alex  

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