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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

Sunday, September 02, 2018

CD Review: Peter Nelson - Ash, Dust and the Chalkboard Cinema:

Peter Nelson (trombone); Alexa Barchini (voice); Nikara Warren (vibes); Josh Lawrence (trumpet); Hailey Niswanger (alto); Yuma Uesaka (bass clarinet); Willerm Delisfort (piano); Raviv Markovitz (bass); Itay Morchi (drums).
(Review by Dave Brownlow).
This intriguingly entitled album by trombonist Peter Nelson features him in three different settings – a delicate trio of vibes, wordless female vocal and trombone, a quartet of trombone, piano, bass and drums and a septet of trumpet, trombone, alto sax, bass clarinet and three rhythm.

Peter has emerged from a debilitating five-year health condition (Dystonia) which made it extremely painful and impossible to play his instrument caused by poor teaching as he learned music. He has since recovered and forged a career composing in a variety of genres and playing trombone with some of the top names in the US jazz scene. The ten unusually titled tracks on the album refer to some of the stages of Peter’s recovery and form a kind of musical suite brought to life by his collaborators each of whom has played a part in his life.

It Starts Slowly(first in your heart) is the first offering from the trio – an ethereal, out-of-this-world piece with wordless vocals and shimmering chords from the vibes contrasting sharply with the full sound of the trombone.

State of Fear (that lonely nightmare) is by the quartet – a hard-swinging performance reminiscent of a Coltrane tour-de-force with ambiguous Tyner-esque chords and some fearsome ‘machine-gun’ trombone and an unsettling drum-led coda.

As We Grow Unfamiliar (In the Void) also by the quartet is based on a repeated two-chord vamp where the rhythm team work hard to provide momentum. Agile solos from trombone and piano in ‘contemporary’ style squeeze all the possibilities from a limited chord sequence.

Cyclical Maze (Round and Round We Go) is by the septet and begins with a chorale-style intro from brass and reeds, leading to a pleasingly arranged melodic theme statement. The solos are unusual in that each player has just 8 bars, then 4, then 2 leading to a successful mass ‘free-for-all’  which completes the track.

Ghost of Sand (Slipping Through Your Fingers) is from the trio – a short out-of-tempo exploration of some imponderable idea where the brusque trombone contrasts nicely with ‘other-worldly’ floating backing.

Back to the septet for Do Nothing (If Less is More) which is a tribute to physiologist/trombonist Jan Kagarice who diagnosed and treated Nelson’s condition.

To The Water, my Eyes (To The Wave, my Heart) is a churning quartet performance with a confident theme statement with solos from bass, trombone and piano on a simple chord structure in “contemporary style.”

Peace, A Moment (you’re enough) is just trombone and bass and finds the leader in reflective mood over the bassist’s repeated motif using the instrument’s harmonics.

Behind Kind Eyes (thank you) is from the septet and sounds like something George Russell might have written. It features the alto of Niswanger, a more conventional trombone solo and a sudden and unexpected ending (i.e. no final theme statement).

Closure is a Wasted Prayer (release, relax) from the trio – is a brief, surreal, impressionist statement which concludes this CD in gentle style.

Overall, a thoughtful album in several respects – a somewhat audacious use of resources, far-reaching, imaginative compositions, and the heart-warming story of a musician, restored to health, realising his talents and abilities to the full.  

Available now on OiM 1813 from Outside In Music or peternelsonmusic.com
Dave B.

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