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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

Wed 15: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 15: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 15: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 15: Hot Club of Heaton @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘third Wednesday in the month’ session. TBC.

Thu 16: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 17: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 17: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 17: Joe Steels Trio w. Graham Hardy @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. (inc. a welcome drink & table reservation). Book at: www.drinks@thepele.co.uk. A ‘Jazz at the Pele’ promotion.
Fri 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 17: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 18: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 18: Alter Ego + Jamie Toms/Graham Don Duo @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 18: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Repas 7 by Night, West St., Berwick TD15 1AS. 7:30pm. Free. Album launch gig.
Sat 18: Delta Prophets @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 19: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm. ‘Glenn Miller & the Rat Pack Era’.
Sun 19: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:15-7:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 19: Tenement Jazz Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 19: Nick Ross Orchestra @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Sun 19: Freight Train (Tobin/Noble/Clarvis) @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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

Tue 21: ???

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, February 04, 2020

CD Review: Issie Barratt’s Interchange – Donna’s Secret


(Review by Hugh C)

Issie Barratt is well established on the jazz scene as an internationally active composer, arranger, conductor, baritone player, record producer and educator

Interchange (“In-to-change”)   is “an exciting new jazz dectet comprising ten of the nation’s most innovative award-winning composers and improvisers –  Pushing at the boundaries and blurring all the edges!”

Donna’s Secret comprises eight newly commissioned works, each by a different composer, namely: Still Here (Karen Street); Donna’s Secret (Brigitte Beraha); Negomi (Nikki Iles); Samla Korna Med Kulning (Issie Barratt); Palmyra (Shirley Smart); Spontaneous Symmetry (Tori Freestone); Caliban (Cassie Kinoshi); Hope (Carol Jarvis).  

Each is written in response to a situation or life event the individual composer has encountered or experienced and detailed sleeve notes place each track in the context in which it was composed.

Still Here demonstrates tight ensemble playing interspersed by a Ceilidh-style dance rhythm featuring Karen Street’s accordion. Donna’s Secret features both musical (verbal and non-verbal) and spoken vocals, in both French and English, from Brigitte Beraha and Jessica Radcliffe.  Negomi is a reflective piece with Middle Eastern influences, written in response to the plight of refugees in the Calais camps.  Samla Korna Med Kulning commences with birdsong and cowbells and depicts women’s herding calls (Kulning) on the Fennoscandian peninsula.  Palmyra returns us to the Middle East (where the composer lived for several years).  Spontaneous Symmetry examines the patterns of nature and breakages in the usual symmetry, such as Freestone’s mother’s atrial fibrillation.  Caliban is Kinoshi’s response to the character in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.  Hope reflects the composer’s emotional journey through cancer juxtaposing darkness and loneliness with optimism and hope.

As observed in a previous review on Bebop Spoken Here (and quoted in the band’s publicity) this is a band, “full of sophisticated music and improvisational skill”.  The whole CD lasts a total of nearly 78 minutes and each track between 7 and 13 minutes.  Within each track there are contrasting elements reflecting the nature of the subject matter informing the composition.  

The CD bears repeated listening, and each time new nuances are discovered.  This is not one for “musical wallpaper” in the background and demands full attention from the listener.

Donna’s Secret is released by Fuzzy Moon Records (Catalogue FUZ015) and is available now.

Issie Barratt (Baritone Sax); Nikki Iles (Piano); Laura Jurd (Trumpet/Electronics); Jessica Radcliffe (Voice); Helena Kay (Clarinet/Alto Sax); Rosie Turton (Trombone); Shirley Smart (Cello); Karen Street (Accordion); Charlie Pyne (Bass); Katie Patterson (Percussion).
 Hugh

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