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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.

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

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.

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

Friday, March 23, 2018

CD Review: Jeff Williams - Lifelike

Jeff Williams (drums); Gonçalo Marquez (trumpet); John O’Gallagher (alto saxophone); Josh Arcoleo (tenor saxophone); Kit Downes (piano) & Sam Lasserson (double bass)
(Review by Russell). 
In 2015 Jeff Williams recorded his third album as leader on Whirlwind Recordings. Outlier received rave reviews and this 2017 recording is likely to garner similar plaudits. Lifelike is his follow-up with much the same line-up although guitarist Phil Robson opts out having relocated to New York, John  O’Gallagher, alto saxophone, makes the trans-Atlantic crossing in the opposite direction and from a recent first gig together in Portugal, trumpeter Gonçalo Marquez comes on board. Otherwise, it’s an unchanged roll call – Josh Arcoleo, tenor, Kit Downes, piano and bassist Sam Lasserson.
Lifelike has a running time of a little over sixty minutes and it’s another live recording from London’s Vortex Jazz Club. Lifelike’s seven tracks, bar one, were written by bandleader Williams and if there is a common thread it’s the ever-present sense of swing that is no doubt embedded in the leader’s musical DNA having served his apprenticeship with the likes of Stan Getz, Lee Konitz, Joe Lovano and Cecil McBee. The sound is contemporary, forward-looking but it knows where it’s coming from. Some of the compositions were first released on earlier albums and hearing them played in concert  by this enhanced sextet line-up at the Vortex is rewarding listening. Trumpeter Marquez makes his mark on the opening track Under the Radar; fleet, nimble, abstract, expressionistic, a musician who has quickly assimilated Williams’ compositional ideas. The Interloper swings with Arcoleo’s tenor, a calling card follows in the form of O’Gallagher’s alto, and a constant throughout the recording is the cohesive ensemble work; Dream Visitor and the pensive, taut, fifties’ bop-like flame burning on the 1990’s composition Lament being just two examples.

Borderline finds Arcoleo wrestling with his tenor and, having tamed it, falls in with a joyful ensemble section, all the while directed by drummer Williams’ first-rate musicality. Gonçalo Marquez’ Canção do Amolador is ushered in by the composer’s tentative intro and in no time the sextet is engaged in a freeish, storming workout. Kit Downes, as ever, has it all covered, prompting, probing, playing the right thing at the right time. The album’s closer - all ten minutes plus of it - Double Life features yet more scorching tenor from Josh Arcoleo and that man Downes signs off in style. Jeff Williams is on a roll recording such high-quality material on Michael Janisch’s label. Let’s hope there is another in the pipeline.         
Russell          

Lifelike by Jeff Williams is released on Whirlwind Recordings (WR4721) on April 20th with a CD launch gig at the Vortex, London on April 3rd. Further dates into the summer months include April 6 at Brighton’s Verdict and April 12 at Birmingham Conservatoire’s purpose-built East Side Jazz Club.         

1 comment :

Danielle White said...

As amazing as the Lifelike recording is 'live' it's on another level. Your chance to see for yourself 3 April at The Vortex where it all happened. To book tickets: http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/event/jeff-williams-lifelike-album-launch/

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