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HOWAY THE LADS!

Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 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

17873 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 194 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (March 14).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sat 15: Hot Teapots @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 15: Lagos to Longbenton + Belladonna @ Whitley Bay Big Social, Whitley Road, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Afrobeat/jazz fusion + soul/funk/R&B
Sat 15: Creakin’ Bones @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Is This Jazz? @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk. Performances by Mu Quintet, Jinjé, A Brief Utopia, John Pope & Co + André Marmot (author of Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion) in conversation + DJ sets ‘til 3:00am. ‘A Festival of New Jazz’.
Sat 15: Vintage Explosion @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 15: One Night Standards @ The White Room, Stanley. 8:00pm. £8.67 (inc. bf). Note - previously advertised Salty Dogs cancelled.
Sat 15: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blues guitar.

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: Pearl Blossoms @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime.
Sun 16: Hot 8 Brass Band @ Wylam Brewery. 7:30pm. ‘Big Tuba Tour’.
Sun 16: ARQ @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 16: Air4ce @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (8:00pm doors). £12.00.; £10.00. Tom Atkinson’s all-star band (line-up inc. Lindsay Hannon & Sue Ferris).
Sun 16: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Jamie Toms Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Laurence Harrison, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.
Tue 18: Phil Bancroft’s Beautiful Storm @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20 & £11.00.. A JNE-Gem Arts co-promotion.

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: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Nicknames.
Thu 20: Terri Green Experience @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.90.
Thu 20: Lindsay Hannon Trio @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Hannon’s ‘Tom Waits for No Man’ set.
Thu 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 21: Paul Skerritt @ 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: Giles Strong Quartet @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Fri 21: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Featuring special guest Martin Litton (piano).

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

Friday, March 08, 2019

CD Review: Nick Sanders Trio - Playtime 2050

Nick Sanders (piano); Henry Fraser (double bass); Connor Baker (drums).
(Review by Dave Brownlow)

The Nick Sanders Trio present a 12 track album of creative material combining classical music and jazz in an innovative style. Looking to the future is how Sanders sees jazz developing via a repertoire of through-composed songs, swing tunes, free improvisations, ‘prepared piano’ interjections and solo piano items.

The album’s cover features rather disturbing art-work showing a young girl clutching a soft toy and both wearing gas masks. This painting appealed to Nick Sanders – its dark humour weirdly attracting his interest.

Live Normal has an appealing, jaunty melodic theme with various changes of tempo where bass and drums contribute strongly and attentively in middle segments. Manic Maniac has many shifts in time ranging from frantic to calm. Blisteringly avante-garde, some Cecil Taylor-like moments add to the chaos. The title tune, Playtime 2050 is a short swinger with a different tempo middle section. The charming melody leads to some clever improvisations before a reprise of the theme.

Prepared for the Blues provides the added interest of a ‘prepared piano’ where metal nails are placed between the piano strings to create a special ‘jangly’ effect. Sanders also quotes from Thelonious’ Blue Monk as the piece follows the conventional 12 bar structure. The meditative Still Considering conjures up a classical feel and indeed incorporates various fragments of melody from well-known masterpieces cleverly woven into the piece. This is a through-composed ballad which is well-thought-out at a gentle tempo.

The Number 3 has a frantic Bud Powell-type intro which then morphs into wild avante-garde passages where piano and drums challenge each other. Again, the ‘manic’ sections are interspersed with slower parts. Interlude For S.L.B. is a brief solo piano tribute respectful to Nick’s late mother. This charming piece has a strong classical form with hints of other diverse influences which intrigue…Endless has an A-B-A form where the fierce piano/drum ‘A’ sections are sharply contrasted with a calm, pastoral ‘B’ interlude. Drummer Baker is in the front line here as an equal soloist.

It’s Like This - a trio-led exploration of a gentle peaceful melody in a time signature that is difficult to pin down. Hungry Ghost has a tense, eerie, dark theme where bowed bass and muttering drums add to the feeling of unease…RPD is a slow, stately ruminative piece – its source being a zombie apocalypse video game “Resident Evil”. Prepared for the Accident is freely improvised, a percussive piece also using the prepared piano. The inspiration for this comes from avant-garde composer John Cage. #2 Longfellow Park concludes the program – its gorgeous hymn-like style reverently apt for the address of an old church in Boston.

Nick Sanders is a player committed to his ideas of moving jazz music forward and I applaud him for it.
The CD is worth repeated hearings to familiarise the listener to his wry style and humour as he looks to the future.
Available from March 15 on Sunnyside SSC 1537 from nicksandersmusic.com
Dave B

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