Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18402 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 266 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 31 ), 76

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

From This Moment On

April

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Zoë Gilby & Johnny Hunter @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Tom Remon + Laurence Harrison @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 09: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Michael Littlefield @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Blues.
Thu 09: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra w. Dan Johnson @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. £15.00. inc. bf.

Fri 10: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Joe Steels: Celebrating Wes Montgomery @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Joe Steels, Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Gambling Janes @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 10: Jake Leg Jug Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 10: Steve White Trio @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00. + bf. Soul Drum (Acid Jazz Records) album tour.

Sat 11: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £26.80.

Sun 12: Swing Social @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Admission: Donations (£5.00. - £10.00. suggested). Swing dance taster class, social dancing to Niffi Osiyemi Trio, DJs. Non dancers welcome. A Cluny-Swing Tyne event.
Sun 12: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 12: Trio Grand @ The White Room, Stanley. 6:30-9:30pm. £10.84.
Sun 12: SH#RP Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00.

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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