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Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, April 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

17957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 278 of them this year alone and, so far, 34 this month (April 14).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Sun 20: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 20: Salty Dog @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 20: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 20: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 21: Newcastle Record Fair @ Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle. 10:00am. Going in search of the Buddy Bolden cylinder…
Mon 21: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

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

Sunday, September 01, 2019

CD Review: Vasilis Xenopoulos - Dexterity

Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax); Ross Stanley (piano); Dario Di Lecce (bass); Steve Brown (drums) + Quentin Collins (trumpet on 3 tracks).
(Review by Lance).

It's good to see Dexter Gordon being recognised for the great musician he was and that today's musicians keep his music alive. It was only last week that Russell waxed eloquently about JazzMain's gig at Edinburgh's Jazz Bar where Nick Gould kept the flame burning brightly.

Now we have Greece's gift to jazz paying his tribute to Long Tall Dexter with an album that, although it's only Sept. 1, is a shoo-in for CD of the Month and probably the year! Vasi has totally captured the essence of Gordon's playing without any suggestion of plagiarism. This is no Joe Bloggs cloning Paul Quinichette cloning Lester Young. Rather, it's flattery without imitation which, contrary to the old adage, is the sincerest form of flattery.

The phrases just roll from the horn, every note counts - and there's no shortage of them - ballad or bouncer our man takes it all in his stride. If I were to attempt the impossible and pick out one track as being above the rest it might be Tadd Dameron's If You Could See Me Now, as luscious and languid as you'll ever hear. I deliberately said "might" as it could just as easily be Society Red from Dexter's Blue Note Album Doin' Alright. There's 8 tracks on the album which means I've got to type 'might' another 6 times!

Quentin Collins plays trumpet on 3 of the tracks which is no bad thing. Collins seems to be on every good album these days - not least his sextet release last month, Road Warrior - and he and Vasi hit it off like Dexter and Freddie Hubbard on the aforementioned Doin' Alright.

Behind every tenor player there's a rhythm section and these 3 are perfect. Stanley and Brown I've heard and been impressed by many times but I was unfamiliar with Di Lecce. Needless to say, if he's good enough for Vasi he's good enough for me.

The album is released today (Sept. 1) link and Vasilis Xenopoulos can be heard in the northeast on October 25/26/27 at Darlington, Crook and Blaydon respectively.
Lance

Dexterology; Tanya; Montmartre; Tivoli; Society Red; If You Could See me Now; Evergreenish; Antabus.
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1 comment :

Patti said...

Just ordered mine - ultra quick, and easy peasy transaction, direct from Lance's link!

Sunday, September 01, 2019 4:58:00 pm

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