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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

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Just Like Bob Dylan the jazz fan....

Bob Dylan - Murder Most Foul

Posts regarding Mr Dylan on this blog have had a mixed reception over the years, however most reasonable music fans will recognise that he has a deep knowledge of musical styles which have influenced his approach to song-writing and performing. As we approach his 79th birthday (24th May, if you want to send a card) it is worth noting that he has released two new songs which are his first original compositions since the album Tempest in 2012. The first, 'Murder Most Foul', is a 17 minute epic using the assassination of President Kennedy as a jumping off point for a reflection on the social and cultural changes brought about by the 1960s.; and the second, 'I Contain Multitudes', which name checks a small Irish village, Anne Frank, The Rolling Stones, Indiana Jones, Edgar Alan Poe, Beethoven and Chopin.

However it is the first song that I think is of most interest to jazz fans who will already know that in Chronicles, his 'autobiography', Dylan mentions meeting Thelonious Monk, Cecil Taylor and other jazz greats in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s. The song 'Murder Most Foul' mentions many different types of musicians but includes a selection of jazz musicians and GAS book songs and performers.

In the song the narrator (maybe JFK) asks the 1950s/60s DJ Wolfman Jack to play him some songs:

     Play me a song Wolfman Jack
     Play it for me in my long Cadillac
     ....
     Play Oscar Peterson, play Stan Getz
     Play 'Blue Sky', play Dickie Betts
     Play Art Pepper, Thelonious Monk
     Charlie Parker and all that junk
     All that junk and 'All That Jazz'
     Play something for the Birdman of Alcatraz
     ...
     Play Nat King Cole, play 'Nature Boy'
     Play 'Down in the Boondocks' for Terry Malloy
     ...
     Play 'Merchant of Venice', play Merchants of Death
     Play 'Stella by Starlight' for Lady Macbeth
     ...
     Play 'Misty' for me, and 'That Old Devil Moon'
     Play 'Anything Goes' and 'Memphis in June'
     ...
     Play Jelly Roll Morton, Play 'Lucille'
     Play 'Deep in a Dream', and play 'Driving Wheel'
     ...
     Play 'Love Me or Leave Me' by the great Bud Powell
     Play 'The Blood-stained Banner', play 'Murder Most Foul'.

JC

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