Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18918 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 782 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 18.) 61.

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

September.

Mon 21: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. Coltrane centenary.

Tue 22: ???

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ 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: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A John Coltrane Centenary Concert (b. 23. 09. 1926). SOLD OUT!
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 24: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 24: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 24: Arun Ghosh @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £21.05. (£22.00. on the door). A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 24: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00.

Fri 25: Mark Williams Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £9.00.
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: Get the Blessing + Dilettante @ The Cluny (Cluny 2), Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £18.00. + bf. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 25: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 26: Adam Fairhall & Johnny Hunter: Play Mary Lou Williams @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 26: John Pope Quintet + Urvashi @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £15.40. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.

Sun 27: Salty Dog @ The Cluny. 12:30pm (doors). Free (donations).
Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Zach Sewell-Lara Hopper Quintet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. Ruth Lambert (vocals); Giles Strong (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Sun 27: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Alex Hitchcock Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.

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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