Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18621 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 485 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 14) 37

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

June

Tue 23: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 23: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 24: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 25: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 25: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Forgotten Ones & Any Quintets.
Thu 25: Edgar Ho Trio @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free. Brilliant alto sax, piano & double bass trio. Unmissable!
Thu 25: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 26: Finn-Keeble Group @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £9:00.
Fri 26: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 26: Clark Tracey @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Newcastle Jazz Festival. £26.00. Day 1/2.

Sat 27: OUTRI @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £13.01. 1:00-1:45pm. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Richardson & Westgarth Sport & Social Club, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal. Note change of venue.
Sat 27: House of the Black Gardenia + Magpies of Swing @ The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sat 27: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 2:15-3:15pm. £13.01. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 3:45-4:45pm. £13.01. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Rory Ingham @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 5:30-6:30pm. £19.51. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2. Ingham w. Dean Stockdale, Ian Paterson, Dave McKeague.
Sat 27: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 27: Laura Jurd @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £26.00. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2. Sat 27: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary’s Church, Wooler. 3:00pm. £18.00., £6.00. A Wooler Arts Summer Concerts event. Tim Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: An Evening of Jazz @ St James’ Church, Copper Chare, Morpeth. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 from 01670 788869 or 01670 519923. Mid Northumberland Chorus (MD Robin Forbes, Emma Straughan, piano) w. jazz trio featuring Edgar Ho, Oscar Ho & Dave McKeague & special guest Emily Masser. Performance inc. Bob Chilcott’s A Little Jazz Mass + George Shearing’s Songs & Sonnets.
Sun 28: Led Bib @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £15.00., £12.00. JNE.

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Vocalist Mandy Kemp To Release Debut EP, Produced By Jazz Icon Jane Monheit Singer Igniting A Second Career With “Firecracker” Release

(Press release)
Los Angeles, California, March 13, 2019 – Emerging L.A. vocalist Mandy Kemp will make her recording debut later this month, with an album produced by Grammy-nominated jazz singer, Jane Monheit. Kemp’s 6-song EP will be available for streaming and download beginning March 29, 2019 on all major music sites, including iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, and Bandcamp, as well as on her website, www.mandykemp.com. Pre-orders of the album can be placed through iTunes or Bandcamp beginning March 18, 2019.  

After generating funding for the album through a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, Kemp recorded her album earlier this year at Big City Studios in Granada Hills, CA, with a band comprised of some of the best players in the L.A. jazz scene: pianist Andy Langham, bassist Jonathan Flaugher, guitarist Will Brahm, vibraphonist Nick Mancini, and drummer Rick Montalbano.


The Jazz-centric album covers songs from both in and outside the genre, in fresh arrangements that are infused with flavors of R&B, Soul, Funk, and Pop. Listeners can expect the smooth, soulful, sultry and refined vocals that Sheryl Aronson of The Hollywood 360 described as “gorgeous”, and bold interpretations that showcase Kemp’s dynamic, “firecracker” personality and passion for the craft.

The singer’s story endears her to her audience as much as her vocals. Though she received training and accolades in multiple genres of music through her teenage years, she abandoned plans for a career in the arts at 18, choosing instead to pursue what she felt to be a “more practical” career in corporate marketing. 17 years later, unsatisfied by life in the corporate world, she decided to revisit the creative “path-not-taken” and moved to Los Angeles to build a new career in the music industry. As she began to forge her new career in the Los Angeles music scene, Kemp discovered a passion for one of the few genres she had not yet explored: Jazz. She sought training from some of the artists she most admired, including lauded Seattle vocalist Greta Matassa and her now-mentor and album’s producer, jazz icon Jane Monheit.

Recognizing the powerful combination of passion, drive, and talent in Kemp, Monheit was enthusiastic about producing the emerging artist’s first album.  “It’s going to be a great introduction to the recording world for her,” Monheit says. She confidently adds, “Mandy is going to make her dream come true.” For anyone who longs to take the leap of a career change, start a new chapter, and/or revisit an abandoned creative pursuit, Mandy Kemp’s rapidly growing success and joyful presence provide heartwarming inspiration.

Kemp will celebrate the release of her debut EP in a dynamic album release show at Upstairs at Vitello’s in Studio City, CA on Thursday, March 21 at 7:30 pm. The show will feature genre-bending arrangements from the album and will include appearances by special guest performers. Tickets to the “Firecracker” Album Release concert are on sale now at: http://www.vitellosrestaurant.com/supperclub

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