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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

17719 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 39 of them this year alone and, so far, 39 this month (Jan. 15).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 21: ???

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: 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.

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

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

CD Review: Moy Eng, Wayne Wallace – The Blue Hour


(Review by Ann Alex)

A collection of originals, with Ms Eng supplying vocals and lyrics and Wallace doing the tunes and the arrangements. Of Chinese-American descent and working in arts administration and grant-making organisations, Eng, who has been recognised in this field with honours from the California Arts Council and the World Affairs Council, currently works for a non-profit body developing affordable workspaces for the arts. This is her debut CD.

Trombonist, composer, producer and educator Wallace, from San Francisco, and a four-time Grammy nominee, has been involved in pop, soul, Latin and Afro-Caribbean music working with the likes of Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Sonny Rollins and Carlos Santana.


Ms Eng's voice is a pleasing, expressive alto with clear diction and the musicians are well up to the mark. However, I had problems totally enjoying the songs. This was perhaps because songs need to get their point across straightforwardly whereas a poem can be a bit more obscure at first reading forcing the reader to return to the work many times. Ms Eng has previously written some 500 poems, so she is used to that genre. I found some of the songs what I would call 'wandering' rather than direct, and without enough variety. This, of course, is subjective and another listener could easily disagree.

The information supplied tells us that the Blue Hour refers to the times of dawn and twilight and the songs cover themes of love, loss, travel and identity, with autobiographical input. Quite a tall order for a set of songs! The titles give a flavour of the material: Filthy Gorgeous; Sleepless in Paris; You Put a Spell on Him; I Love a Girl Who Parties; Hong Kong; Wild Plum; Magnolia Light; Alpha Girl; A New York Moment; Thursdays In May. The songs I liked more than others were Filthy Gorgeous (a swinger with a big band accompaniment, intimate by turns, ending with a sensuous sax solo); Alpha Girl (an interesting storyline about a woman who is successful in all but love); Thursdays in May (a sad love song with a beautiful string accompaniment, in fact the strings almost 'embrace' the vocals).
Ann Alex
Available on Patois Records. See www.thebluehourproject.com   

Moy Eng (vocals, composition, lyrics, production) Wayne Wallace (composition, arrangements, production). Musicians on various tracks: Deszon Claiborne, Colin Douglas, Akira Tana (drums); David Belove, Marc van Wageningen, John Wiitala (fretless, electric, acoustic basses); Joe Gilman (piano); Murray Low (keyboard); Frank Martin (keyboard, piano, organ); Michael Spiro (congas, percussion); Rick Vandivier (guitars, dobro); Tommy Kesecker (vibes); Erik Jekabson, John Worley (trumpet); Mary Fettig, Melecio Magdaluyo (saxes); Wayne Wallace (trombone); Eugene Chokluv (1st violin); Niki Fukada (2nd violin); Edith Szendrey (viola); Monica Scott (cello); Yuki Nagase (double bass)

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