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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17777 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 98 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Feb.8).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 16: MOBO Song @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 12 noon. Free, performances on the concourse. Line-up inc. Jazz Attack (on stage time TBC) & Jambone (12:20pm).
Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. .

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Matt Forster Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.

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: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Jazz Milestones - 1975.
Thu 20: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 20: Orange Claw Hammer + Peony @ The Globe, Newcastle.7:30pm. Orange Claw Hammer play Captain Beefheart.
Thu 20: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Featuring special guest Zoë Gilby.

Fri 21: JazzMain @ 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: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. TBC.
Fri 21: Emma Rawicz w. Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

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: Mississippi MacDonald @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Blues.
Sat 22: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm. £16.50. SOLD OUT!
Sat 22: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

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, September 05, 2018

CD Review: Johannes Berauer’s Hourglass

Johannes Berauer (composer); Thomas Gould (violin); Mike Walker (guitar); Gwilym Simcock ( piano); Martin Berauer (electric bass); Bernhard Schimpelsberger (drums, percussion).
(Review by Hugh C)
Johannes Berauer is an Austrian composer who incorporates many musical styles in his works, including classical avant-garde, jazz and world music.  For this recording of Hourglass, a quintet has been assembled comprising some of the most accomplished and versatile musicians on the scene.  Hourglass is Berauer’s first composition for jazz combo, as he normally composes in more large-scale forms.  The composition incorporates many influences including “Bach’s counterpoint, Messian’s sense for harmony, Indian rhythm language and M.C. Escher’s paradox views of reality”. 

Why Hourglass?  “The Hourglass represents an island in time…, it allows us to enter into a space of no distraction.  A personal space, a refuge in our otherwise overly hectic times.  This space is the nourishing ground for the creative mind, for the musician and the listener alike”.

In the Beginning kicks off at a brisk tempo with Gould’s soaring violin over a rhythmic percussive background.  Sequential more improvisational solo passages from Simcock’s piano, Berauer’s bass and Walker’s guitar follow as the music takes a more relaxed course.  One is reminded of a fast-flowing mountain stream, falling over a waterfall, before becoming a slower winding river in the flatlands below.  East does what it says on the tin and takes us in an oriental direction, commencing with – Schimpelberger’s konnakol vocal percussion over tabla and subtle manual exploration under the lid of the piano.   A full instrumental follows, with a tonality evocative of the mystic East.  Tryptich is presented (unsurprisingly) in three parts:  Secrets, Dreams and Phoenix.

Keep Up maintains the up-tempo rhythmic flow present through the majority of this composition thus far and follows the pattern of sequential improvisational solo passages interspersed by full ensemble playing set in In the BeginningEndless Time commences with a thoughtful solo passage on piano which sets the overall pace for this altogether more relaxed track.  Time almost seems to stand still during the eight minutes or so of its duration.  Nocturne is similarly laid back, as you would expect from the title.  At nearly eleven minutes this is the longest track on the CD.  The subtle melodic melange of the quintet brings a certain dream-like quality to this piece.  Invention commences with another percussion solo, this time on pitched cowbells, then joined by bass, piano, violin – this is a chorale, distinctly after JS Bach, but in five time.  Spiral winds up the CD with an atmospheric and uplifting piano and violin duet before the sand finally runs through.

This is a must-have CD (but don’t tell the jazz police) - it is simply great music, beautifully composed, but delivered with improvisatory flair by a quintet of top-notch musicians.  Johannes Berauer’s Hourglass is available on the Basho label (Basho Records SRCD 55-2)

The Quintet are currently touring the album -  I was privileged to be at the world premiere (a concept perhaps not celebrated enough in jazz) in Ambleside  - and appear at Kings Place, September 5 and at Stapleford Granary, September 6.  Two further dates in December are also listed at RNCM, Manchester (6th) and Attenborough Centre, Leicester (7th). 
Hugh C
A studio version of Keep Up can be savoured here: 

2 comments :

Lance said...

Hugh, re your comment on jazz world premieres, at the recent Ushaw Jazz Festival there were at least eleven world premieres - maybe more!

Hugh C said...

So I understand. I think it was Paul Edis who noted that (in contrast to the classical world) highlighting a world premiere performance in the jazz world was rare event.

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