Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. 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: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Friday, May 15, 2020

CD (double) Review: Brecker Brothers - Live and Unreleased

Randy Brecker (trumpet/vocal); Michael Brecker (tenor sax); Barry Finnerty (guitar); Mark Gray (keys); Neil Jason (bass); Richie Morales (drums).

I must admit that when the Brecker Brothers were at the height of their popularity my tastes were somewhat more temperate and I paid them little attention. However, these live, previously unreleased tracks from a 1980 concert in Hamburg, show me exactly what I was missing.

Fortunately, with maturity, my tastes have broadened and what seemed to me somewhat outré back then comes across as closer to the mainstream today. Jazz/rock/fusion/funk - call it what you may - they generated excitement by the bucket-load. Reminds me in some ways of northeast band King Bee,

Ten tracks, split over 2 CDs, the brothers show an incredible technique - Randy displaying the brilliance I remember from hearing him with SNJO in Edinburgh a few years back, Michael making sounds that Adolphe Sax never dreamed possible when he invented the instrument. Listen to them trading responses on The Sponge.

Finnerty on guitar is equally amazing - he and keyboardist Gray also trade on the same wild number. Jason and Morales are driving forces throughout with the latter having an extended solo on Baffled.

Funky Sea, Funky Dew lasts 18 minutes+ and has an extended cadenza by Michael about 10 minutes in that lasts for a couple of minutes before some subterranean sounds from the engine room join in - this is weird in a compelling sort of way.

The tracks are long and by the time I was midway through the second CD my interest had begun to wane. The punch was still there but it began to sound a bit samey and, whilst the horns maintained my interest, the grooves being laid down behind them began to grate although I wouldn't have wanted to miss Randy's solo on Inside Out. He also sings on the final track - Don't Get Funny With my Money. 

If the two albums had been issued individually I'd have bought Volume One and awaited eagerly for the follow up. However, hearing them as one is like having that extra drink too many or, if you're a teetotaller, that last cream cake.

Nevertheless, despite my reservations, it's a classic that all Brecker fans should crawl over burning coals for.
Lance.

Available from Piloo Records.

Strap Hangin'; Tee'd Off; Sponge; Funky Sea, Funky Dew; I Don't Know either; Inside Out; Baffled; Some Skunk Funk; East River; Don't Get Funny With my Money.
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