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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

1803759 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 480 of them this year alone and, so far, 58 this month (June 18).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Sat 21: Jason Holcomb Jazz Ensemble @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 5:30-7:30pm. Free. A 'Sunderland Year of Music' event.
Sat 21: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: Phoenix 4 @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington, Northumberland. 1:00-2:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £18.00. + £1.08 bf.
Sun 22: JazzMain @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

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

Thursday, September 20, 2018

CD Review (retro): Shirley Horn - I Love You, Paris.

Shirley Horn (piano/vocal); Charles Ables (bass); Steve Williams (drums).
As Simon Spillett said in his observations on Bebop Spoken Here, this isn't a retro-site. We try to concentrate on the present without ignoring the future or forgetting the past.
However, when I popped into my local charity shop seeking shelter from the storm and saw a CD by Shirley Horn alongside discs by Harry James, Bix, Sinatra, Astrid and Sting, it was as if I was the drowning man seeing his life flash past - well it was raining heavily - so I thought I'd best have a 50p pop on Shirley and Astrid before it was too late. 
Fortunately, the storm eased and I lived to listen another day. 
I've yet to sample Astrid's offering but Shirley's 1992 live recording in Paris should be on everyone's bucket list. 
After all, seeking out a 1992 CD isn't like searching for a V disc by the Flare Path Orchestra nor is it as fraught with danger* You can probably find it on Amazon although not for 50p and the pleasure can't compare to finding it in a charity shop whilst sheltering from Storm Ali!
Shirley Horn was possibly the most enigmatic jazz vocalist of them all. Over-praised by some and under-praised by others but as emotional a singer as any of her contemporaries.
Sinatra lived the lyrics and no one did it better when he did and yet, he could also destroy them. Likewise Ella.
Shirley Horn managed to create an individuality so unique that you took her voice to bed with you. Man, woman, or child, if she cried, you cried.
Lance.
Wouldn't it be Loverly?; Just in Time; He Was Too Good To Me; Do it Again; Old Country; It's Easy to Remember; All Through the Night; L.A. Breakdown; I Loves You Porgy/Here Comes De Honeyman; A Song For You/Goodbye; That Old Devil Called Love. 

*See forthcoming review of a novel from the series featuring the Vinyl Detective - Victory Disc by Andrew Cartmel.

1 comment :

Ron said...

Lance coincidentally I listened to a tribute to Shirley Horn on Radio 3 on Saturday gone.
First time I have heard quite a lot of her music. A supreme master of the ballad . Impressive!!!!!
Ron

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