Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18288 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 142 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 14), 42

From This Moment On ...

February

Thu 19: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: George Shearing Jazz Moments.

Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Squabble @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:00pm. Steve Chambers (organ); Jude Murphy (double bass, vocals); Sid White (drums).
Fri 20: Jive Aces @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors).
Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Sat 21: ???

Sun 22: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 22: Joe Steels Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Harben Kay Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Joe Steels Group @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 24: Liam Oliver & Shayo Oshodi @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 26: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 26: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00 adv.
Thu 26: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Blues.

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

Tuesday, March 06, 2018

CD Review: Sarah Eden - Bleu Nuit

With her velvet voice, Sarah Eden prompts us to places populated by phantoms and mirages, where nostalgia vibrates like a star shining, refusing to stop...
So, read the blurb.
I listened to the music.
I listened again, and again and again.
I'm still listening...
So, it's sung in French?
I have little French (L’école est un lointain souvenir) however, it doesn't matter. Like an aria that is sung in Italian or the scatting of Ella, it is the sound. Where words and music blend to become an instrumental duo and French has always seemed to lend itself so naturally to jazz.
The opening track, Lady Day, told me from the opening bars that, even though we hadn't even reached the Ides of March, this was likely to be in the shake-up come December 31and my Meilleurs Disques de l'année 2018. When I heard the lyrical trumpet solo by the late Francois Chassagnite likely became certain.
Who is this Sarah Eden?
Born in Morocco, the family move to France after the death of her father where, as a teenager, she takes refuge in reading, dreaming and discovering jazz.
A great opera singer takes her under her wing and teaches her classical singing. At the same time, Sarah finds inspiration from the voices of Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Chet Baker, Shirley Horn and Ella Fitzgerald.
A regular in the Latin Quarter, visiting Jazz Clubs and Art Cinemas. Writes a lyric for Henri Salvador, records 3 successful albums then takes a fifteen-year sabbatical to raise her son.
But now Sarah Eden is back with Bleu Nuit. Released last month but recorded between 2010 and 2014 with the following musicians:
Sarah Eden (voice and compositions); Marianne Gauté (piano and arrangements); Nicolas Mirande (bass); André Ceccarelli (drums).
Guests: Francois Chassagnite (trumpet 1 & 5); Sylvano Gontard (trumpet 3 & 8); Sébastien Liaddo (trombone 3 & 8); Stanislas Nussac (tenor/soprano sax 2, 3, 7 & 8);Jean-Jacques Milteau (harmonica 4); Jean Alain Roussel (piano - 6); Chris Birkett (guitar, voice 6 & 9; producer, re-mastering album); Ronald Smith & Michael Robinson (choir 6).
String Quartet:Ludovic Passavant, Francoise Villevielle (violins); Nicolas Galiere (viola); Lionel Allemande (cello).
I'm lost for words to describe this but, check out the links below and you'll see where I'm coming from.
My thanks to Lydia of Plaza Mayor. Our combined Franglais produced the above information on what is a remarkable album.
Lance

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