Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
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: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Parish Hall, St Barnabas’ Church, Rowlands Gill. 7:30pm. £10.00. BYOB (tea & coffee available), raffle. Proceeds to St Barnabas’ Church. Performance feat. Shayo (vocals).
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Move over Liz Taylor, Lana Turner & Liberace make way for Beyoncé, Michelle Obama and Rihanna - CD Review: Eyal Vilner Big Band - Swing Out!

(Review by Lance)

Recently I was bemoaning the fact that, whilst I love Nina Simone's version of My Baby Just Cares For Me, it was time for today's vocalists to update the lyrics. Well, on this superb big band album, vocalist Brianna Thomas has done just that and so we get Beyoncé for Liz Taylor, Michelle Obama for Lana Turner and, Rihanna for Liberace. It works, not least because Vilner has also scored Nina's iconic piano solo for the whole band - this is like WOW!

What a gem! A big band with a difference, a band that brings the past pretty close to the present!

Think Bob Crosby, Luis Russell, early Benny and maybe some territory bands and you get the idea. Pre-bop big band scored to meet the demands of today's listeners - and dancers. Yes, dancers! The Vilner Big Band is tops with the New York swing dance community and your feet will tell you why.

Superb arrangements and great solos - one moment I'm at Connie's Inn, next it's the Cotton Club or maybe the Palomar Ballroom out on the coast. Could be The Savoy in Harlem anywhere but The Oxford or Hammersmith Palais.

Take your partners for the Lindy Hop.

Absolutely love it!
Lance

Downhill; In a Mellow Tone; Dinah; Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?; St. Louis Blues; That's All; Big Apple Contest; My Baby Just Cares For me; Going Uptown; 5-10-15 Hours; Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen; I'm on my Way to Canaan Land.

Street date July 12. Visit: www.eyalvilner.com 

 PS: And if you live in NYC there's a CD launch...
Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing, Wednesday, July 10, 6pm - Damrosch Park, 62nd Street, between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues.
Dance floor opens at 6:00 pm; Dance lesson at 6:30 pm; Live music at 7:30 pm 
Single Tickets: In advance: $18, Day-of: $22

Eyal Vilner (alto sax/flute/clarinet/MD); Bryan Davis, Michael Sailors, Brandon Lee, James Zoller (trumpets); Robert Edwards, Mariel Bildsten, Rob Wilkins (trombones); Bill Todd (alto sax/clarinet/flute); Jordan Pettay (alto sax); Evan Arntzen (tenor sax/clarinet); Michael Hashim (tenor sax); Eden Bareket (bari sax); Jordan Piper (piano); Ian Hutchison (bass); Eran Fink (drums) + Itai Kriss (flute tk 12; Andrew Millar (washboard tk 3); Brianna Thomas, Brandon Bain (vocals).
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive