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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 2024).

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Postage

17421 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 695 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 09: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 09: Shunya, Dudù Kouate & Seb Rochford @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). £21.00.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Collaborations - it happened all the time’.
Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices w. the Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 10: Side Cafe Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 10: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. With guests Donna Hewitt (sax); Bill Watson (trumpet); Graham Thompson (keys); Ron Smith (bass). Free.

Fri 11: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: The Jazz Quartet + Stratosphonic @ Tynedale Rugby Club, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £15.00. A Rotary Club of Hexham event. The Jazz Quartet (Jude Murphy & co), Stratosphonic (blues/rock).
Fri 11: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Market Place, Corbridge NE45 5AW. 7:30pm. Free.
Fri 11: Crooners @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 11: Mo Scott Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sat 12: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Michael Woods @ Victoria Tunnel, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv.). Country blues guitar & vocals.
Sat 12: Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.28, £11.16, £9.04. A two-track recording launch gig.
Sat 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rockabilly, rhythm & blues etc. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 12: Lapwing Jazz Trio @ The Ship Inn, Low Newton. 8:00pm. Free. New trio: Paula Whitty, Richard Herdman, Jude Murphy.

Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Emma Wilson @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 13: Catfish Keith @ The Cluny. 7:00pm. Country blues.
Sun 13: Cath Stephens & Paul Grainger @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Stephens & Grainger, one third of a triple bill.
Sun 13: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by Nina Simone, performed by Nicholle Cherrie.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass), Bailey Rudd (drums).

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, November 29, 2018

Bradley Johnston Trio w. Keith Robinson @ King's Hall, Newcastle University - Nov 29

Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums); Keith Robinson (tenor sax, clarinet)
(Review by Russell)

In My Life began this afternoon's King's Hall concert. Bradley Johnston's arrangement for solo guitar of the Lennon and McCartney song took as its inspiration Pat Metheny's recordings for solo guitar. The Wearside based guitarist, forging a career as a gigging musician and tutor, switched between one of three guitars during a set of fifty minutes and more. Assisting BJ were regular collaborators Paul Grainger, bass, and drummer Russ Morgan, alongside the welcome figure of Keith Robinson playing tenor sax and, on one number, clarinet.

The remainder of the programme comprised no fewer than seven of Johnston's compositions. For Joe unsurprisingly paid homage to the great Joe Pass (many years ago the American memorably gave a solo recital at the Gosforth Park Hotel). BJ knows his Joe Pass...Ella, Oscar et al and this blues in G surely had the great man applauding from up there in the jazz club in the sky. 


The Awakening introduced Keith Robinson, on tenor sax, and the affable Strictly Smokin' sideman stayed on for a couple more - Django's Footsteps and For Frisell. On the former, Robinson played clarinet, on the latter tenor. In his programme notes Johnston wrote of Django Reinhardt 'Django's Footsteps is a tribute to a guitarist that continues to inspire musicians worldwide with his explosive and creative improvisations.'

Johnston, playing his recently acquired Maccaferri-like guitar, did justice to the legendary Hot Club icon in creating an evocative slow drag feel to the piece. One negative note, Robinson's clarinet was way too low in the mix and it's a shame the King's Hall's technicians were unable to resolve the issue. Robinson exchanged his clarinet for tenor sax on For Frisell and BJ certainly captured the essence of Bill Frisell's sound with hints of Nashville in amongst Downtown New York.    

In introducing James' Waltz Johnston paid tribute to mentor Dr James Birkett. The guitarists recorded the composition on their debut duo CD Together with Johnston quick to point out that a copy of the CD would make an ideal Christmas present. Copies were available at the door...

Johnston's informative notes said of Presence 'I have wanted to write a very spacey/rubato theme for a while, and Presence came to me whilst I was experimenting using extensions and chord inversions to create counterpoints between the bass-note and melody.' And so he played it, a short piece, for guitar and tenor sax (Robinson). 

As two o'clock approached Johnston thanked Robinson, Grainger and Morgan for their invaluable contributions to the afternoon's proceedings. Blues for John tipped the hat at John McLaughlin, in particular, the guitarist's Live at the Royal Festival Hall recording. At this juncture, your correspondent is obliged to mention that he attended the concert (November 27, 1989), subsequently bought the LP (vinyl) and knows it well! So, imagine Paul Grainger as Kai Eckhardt and Russ Morgan as Trilok Gurtu and you're there on the South Bank. Oh, and Bradley as McLaughlin. To quote once more from BJ's notes 'This piece throws its challenges to the trio, navigating through changing time signatures and grooves.' The Bradley Johnston Trio rose to the challenge.
Russell

1 comment :

David Spraggon Williams said...

Supercool and highly entertaining stuff. Young Bradley goes from strength to strength.

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