Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 2026)

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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

From This Moment On

April

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion.
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: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm.
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Saturday, March 02, 2019

CD Review: Lyn Stanley - London Calling "A Toast To Julie London"

Lyn Stanley (vocals); John Chiodini (guitar); Mike Garson, Christian Jacob (piano); Chuck Berghofer, Michael Valerio (bass); Luis Conte, Brad Dutz (perc); Aaron Serfaty (drums, perc); Paul Kreibich (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex).

I liked this CD before I heard it! At least I enjoyed the very informative notes in the insert, which give the details of each song, the circumstances in which Julie London sang the song and the details of Lyn Stanley’s interpretation. For instance, did you know that  As Time Goes By was a flop when it was written in 1931, and didn’t catch on until it was included in the film Casablanca in 1942? Or that Blue Moon was originally entitled The Bad In Every Man? I digress.

The CD gives us 15 standards recorded by Julie London and 2 songs, It’s Impossible and I Heard It Through The Grapevine, which Stanley reckons would have suited Julie’s singing. Julie London (1926-2000) was a singer and actor, and one of her classic and very influential songs was Cry Me A River. Lyn Stanley released her debut album in 2013 and she has sold 40,000 albums worldwide.  On this CD she puts very much her own take on these classic songs, Working with stellar musicians from the Los Angeles area, and without any actual written arrangements.

Her diction is faultless and she sings with feeling. For instance, Bye Bye Blackbird  is a swinging duet with lots of space for the bass, and a sly reference to These Boots Are Made For Walking at the end. I Heard It Through The Grapevine has Latin percussion with bass noodling and a free jazz feeling from the piano. Summertime (Yes Lance!) is done twice, both very acceptable, a bluesy version with the whole band, and then as a lullaby with a rocking rhythm from piano and vocals. Sway is intimate, almost whispered, with mainly piano and guitar. I could outline each track, but it’s best to hear the songs, which include: Goody Goody; Call Me Irresponsible; How About Me; I’ve Got A Crush On You; Light My Fire; Go Slow/Nice Girls Don’t Stay For Breakfast; You The Night And The Music; Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.

The music is available on CD and also in vinyl as a 2 disc set. See www.LynStanley.com
Ann Alex    

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Just a note to thank you so much for this review--I really enjoyed reading it and am so appreciative that you noticed the work Scott Yanow did for the liner notes to help bring the songs to life for the listener. This album's arrangements were all created by the band and they were organic even on the recording day. The lullaby of Summertime you mention was a one take one time recording whereby Mike Garson asked me to record it at the end of our band session. So, I dismissed the band and kept the engineers and Mike saundered over to the Steinway and just told me to follow his lead. And so it went. I included it because it does add such an interesting contrast to the band version and Mike's solo is over the top to me.

Thank you again, and I am sorry that I did not know about this review until today.

Lyn Stanley

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