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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.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

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: ???

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

Monday, August 27, 2018

In Other Words & BABA @ Ushaw, Durham - August 26

(Review by Russell)
Offering performance opportunities to young musicians has become an integral part of the Ushaw Jazz Festival. This year's three day event opened on Friday evening with the Early Bird Big Band, Saturday afternoon featured the hothouse duo of Francis Tulip and Matt MacKellar (Birmingham and Berklee students, respectively) alongside the Whitley Bay keyboard wizard Joel Brown, and, on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the Francis Thompson Room, two bands (seven musicians, average age seemingly not much more than seventeen and three quarters!) were intent on making a big impression. 
A short set, all of thirty minutes, meant there was no time to waste for the three young musicians calling themselves In Other Words.

In Other Words: Alex Thompson (alto sax, clarinet); Nathan Lawson (guitar); Dylan Thompson (drums)
Straight ahead jazz is what In Other Words are all about. Autumn LeavesA Foggy Day in London TownLi'l Darlin' and the trio's signature tune, yes, you've got it, Fly Me to the Moon

Alex Thompson plays alto saxophone and clarinet - the former determinedly, the latter leisurely, both effectively. The young man positioned in the middle of the Thompsons (drummer Dylan is brother to Alex), left-hander Nathan Lawson,  plays a beautiful black Gretsch guitar. A fine player is Nathan, playing with or without a plectrum, the influence of Dr James Birkett all too evident. The trio's arrangements impressed and Dylan Thompson's expert use of brushes belied his tender years. DT has just left school and college beckons...watch out music world! Similarly, Alex will soon be off to university and a chair in a student big band surely awaits. 

Nathan's considered intro to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat set up Alex to unleash an impassioned, bluesy alto solo. Perhaps the tune of the set, but wait, their closing number ...I Got Rhythm with Dylan's hi-hat working overtime as he brushed at a lick and Alex's swift execution ideas, not shy about throwing in a quote or two - The Flintstones, for one - and Nathan on the case just about topped it. A most enjoyable set.
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BABA: Thomas Dixon (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Adam Cornell (bass guitar); Dylan Thompson (drums)
Thomas Dixon co-leads BABA. The name roughly translates to 'spit' and it's a fair bet that alto saxophonist Dixon felt like doing it - spitting, that is - as a certain low-cost airline cancelled flights across Europe resulting in co-leader Inês Gonçalves being stranded in Portugal. What to do...find a piano dep or play as a piano-less trio? A potential dep happened to be at Ushaw and, with little time to get to grips with the all-original material, Ben Lawrence agreed to play the piano parts.

Dixon on tenor sax suggested the set's untitled opening number, written by the absent Gonçalves, could be called The Ryanair Debacle. A structured piece with space to improvise, Dixon led the way and didn't hesitate in giving the nod to the depping Lawrence who set about the material as if a long time member of the quartet. 

Binker and Moses and other high profile names are said to be influences on BABA and the intriguingly titled Origami Grandma incorporated elements of the drum 'n' bass, or rather the drum (Moses) and tenor sax (Binker) sound currently in vogue with Dixon on alto swooping in and out of swingtime sections. 

Dixon's clapped intro set up the band on Mouthwashing - drummer Dylan Thompson brandishing mallets with rock steady bassist Adam Cornell at his side.  Dixon has been busy writing material with some crazy time signatures and in introducing Moon Drunk suggested he and his bandmates could well be seen mumbling to themselves such was the level of concentration required. And concentrate they did! Drummer Thompson set up and maintained a complex rhythm as short-notice dep Ben Lawrence somehow or other produced a fully formed solo. 

BABA concluded the afternoon's entertainment in the Francis Thompson Room with Inciting Incident but not before Dixon thanked Paul Edis for giving the band the opportunity to perform at this, the third Ushaw Jazz Festival. All original material, some of it premiere material, keep an eye out for BABA.    
Russell.   
Ushaw photos.     

1 comment :

Lance said...

What Russell failed to mention was that Tom Dixon was playing on a borrowed alto. A very fine alto indeed but, as saxophonists, motorists and womanisers will affirm - each one is different and it takes time to find the comfort zone.
On alto, Tom found that comfort zone fairly quickly...

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