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Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 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

17873 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 194 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (March 14).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Nicknames.
Thu 20: Terri Green Experience @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.90.
Thu 20: King Bees @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Superb blues band.
Thu 20: Lindsay Hannon Trio @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Hannon’s ‘Tom Waits for No Man’ set.
Thu 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Giles Strong Quartet @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Fri 21: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Featuring special guest Martin Litton (piano).

Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30pm-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 22: Swamp Stomp String Band @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Sat 22: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: The Great Deceivers @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Tom Atkinson & co play King Crimson (1969-1974). Atkinson (guitar); Josh Bentham (alto sax); Stu Dawson (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums).

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: Fred Wesley & the New JB’s @ The Cluny. 7:30pm (doors). £27.50. POSTPONED! New date Wednesday 26 November.

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, May 13, 2018

CD Review: Glenn Crytzer Orchestra - Ain't it Grand?

(Review by Lance).
We're back in 'The Swing Era', that gorgeous period twixt Dixieland and bebop when big bands ruled the roost. To draw another parallel, and one closer to home, none of the tracks would sound out of place if performed at Mike Durham's Classic Jazz Party held annually just outside of Whitley Bay. In fact, at least one of the musicians has indeed played there - trombonist Jim Fryer.
Jazz historian Will Friedwald, who wrote the accompanying blurb, prefers to think of them as, "not so much recreations but rather reimaginings".  A pretty fair description, although A String of Pearls doesn't sound that much different from the original Miller version even down to the solos. But then again, who's going to improve on the original Bobby Hackett chorus?
Thirteen of the thirty tracks are originals by Crytzer and he has captured the mood of the era so well that I was never sure which was which. And Crytzer's a man still in his mid-thirties!
I'm unable to identify the soloists, suffice to say they are all well-versed in the idiom. Booting tenor,  wailing alto, Artie/Benny clarinet, screaming trumpet, growl trumpet, blistering trombone, mellow trombone, romantic crooning, comic vocals. Music to listen to or dance to.
If you're old enough it's nostalgic, if you're young enough and haven't been media brainwashed, it's a voyage of discovery!
Lance
Glenn Crytzer (guitar/banjo/MD/arranger); Sam Hoyt, Mike Davis, Jason Prover (trumpets); Rob Edwards, Joe McDonough, Jim Fryer (trombones); Mark Loperman, Marc Schwartz, Matt Koza, Henry 'Ricky' Alexander (reeds); Rob Reich (piano); Ian Hutchison (bass); Andrew Millar (drums); Hannah Gill, Dandy Wellington (vocals).

1 comment :

Russell said...

Later this year (Nov 2-4) Jim Fryer returns to Mike Durham's International Classic Jazz Party (near Whitley Bay) as does USA cornet/trumpet player Mike Davis who made a big impact in 2017.

Davis, still in his mid-twenties, leads the New Wonders and the band's eponymous CD was reviewed in the pages of this blog in March. Crytzer's trombonist - Joe McDonough - also appears on Davis' album.

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