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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Parish Hall, St Barnabas’ Church, Rowlands Gill. 7:30pm. £10.00. BYOB (tea & coffee available), raffle. Proceeds to St Barnabas’ Church. Performance feat. Shayo (vocals).
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & 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

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

CD Review: Bansangu Orchestra

(Review by Lance).
Bansangu's name derives from Brazillian percussionist Airto Moreira's habit of saying "Ban san gu' when paying his musicians. Translated it means 'Band Sounds Good!'
It was back in 2014 that ace tenor player Paul Booth got together with Giorgio Serci and Kevin Robinson to formulate the idea of a traditional big band playing music from a diverse range of cultures such as African, Brazillian, Caribbean, Celtic, Cuban, Indian and Middle Eastern. This they do without losing the overall jazz feeling but, at the same time, adding a different dimension.
Over the years, Gillespie, Kenton, Don Ellis and others have explored different cultures although none have covered such a wide spectrum. There may be some obscure tribe in one of the four continents whose indigenous sounds have been overlooked but there can't have been many.
Originals by Booth, Jayasinha, Wilson, Serci Mantovani, Mires and Oli Rockberger plus Robinson's arrangement of The Doors' Light My Fire make for compelling listening and the solos by Booth, Mayne, Yarde, Quigley, Jayasinha, Fishwick, Mires, Dickinson, Wilson, Serci. Youngs, Banks, Rockberger, Mayer and Keita combine to elevate the music to a rarified level.
To sum up: Ban san gu!
Put this one on your bucket list.
Lance
Album due for release by Pathway Records (PBCD0121) on August 3. Launch at Margate Jazz Weekend on September 21.

Paul Booth (MD/tenor/soprano/etc.)*; Jason Yarde (alto/soprano); Sammy Mayne (alto/flute);  Richard Beesley (tenor/clarinet); Gemma Moore (baritone/bass clarinet). Ryan Quigley, Kevin Robinson, Andy Greenwood, Shanti Paul Jayasinha, Steve Fishwick (trumpets)**; Trevor Mires***, Barnaby Dickinson, Robbie Harvey, Martin Gladdish, Richard Henry (trombones)****; Alex Wilson (piano); Giorgio Serci (guitar/oud); Davide Mantovani (elec. bass); Satin Singh, Edwin Sanz (perc.); Rod Youngs or Tristan Banks***** (drums) + Jonathan Mayer (sitar); Oli Rockberger (piano); Seckou Keita (kora).
*etc. includes: flutes/melodica/accordion/voice/perc/keys.
**Trumpets all double on flugelhorn.
***Trevor Mires supplies the pedal effects. 
****Richard Henry plays bass trombone and tuba.
*****Banks replaces Youngs on one track only.
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