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

18897 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 761 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 11.) 40.

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 14: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 17: Front Porch Blues @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 17: Miles 100 @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. Jack Courtney (trumpet); Sue Ferris (tenor sax); Tom Atkinson (guitar); Alan Law (piano); Deon Krishnan (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums). A night of Miles Davis.
Thu 17: Amphitrio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £7.00. Andrei Petrache (piano); Mike Alex (double bass); Philip Goron (drums).

Fri 18: Danny Lownes’ Hot Club @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Mark Williams Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 18: Emma Fisk’s Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00., £5.00. student.
Fri 18: Rivkala + Beccy Sloan @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.

Sat 19: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal. All welcome.
Sat 19: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-5:00pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner: Nina Simone. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 19: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.

Sat 19: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal. All welcome.

Sun 20: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 20: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.

Monday, July 13, 2020

Globe Livestream: Zoë Gilby Quartet – July 12

Zoë Gilby  (voice); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion (bass); Russ Morgan (drums)

Zoë said it was great to be doing a live gig again and she meant it. This was a stellar performance, much appreciated judging by the comments made by the 39 or so households who were attending. I'd forgotten how good this quartet is, well together and with superb solos all round. And we have friendly chat from Zoë, and some songs with her own lyrics, which are impressive and interesting.

In fact the 2 songs I enjoyed the most had lyrics by Zoë. Red Headed Girl From The North East was a beautiful, moving tribute to Zoë's mother, who enjoyed life in London before settling down. Angela, set to a Tom Harrell tune, concerned a very seductive woman, which gave Zoë the chance to show the full range of her voice in a long, intense, wordless coda, which was quite eerie at times.

This was quickly and wisely followed by a regular jazz standard, You Turned the Tables On Me. Then came April Mist, a Harrell tune with Zoë lyrics, all about making the most of life in Springtime, with a fine solo from Mark which wasn't just for show but fitted the song; a good bass solo and then 4s from drum and bass.

Caravan featured Russ, firstly drums with a good 'clanky' sound, then very 'busy' with continuous light drums and cymbals, morphing into a drum solo with hands, sticks, cymbals. It's easy to overlook bass players, whose job is to be dependable, but Andy shone during his solos as well. The other songs played were: Leap to the Limelight (about a dancer); Midnight Bell (based on a novel concerning a London pub); In Walked Bud; Your Words (sad love song); and finally a blues, Centrepiece.

I look forward to many more of these livestream gigs. There were some problems with jerkiness on the video which was a bit out of sync. I wasn't too troubled by this as the sound is the most important thing and besides, I was busy admiring Zoë's lovely blue dress, made up of many small layers, delightful. Oh, and the men sported beards, a sign of Corvid times.
Ann Alex

4 comments :

Lance said...

Ann! You go into glowing details about the dress but don't attach a photo!

Ann Alex said...

Sorry about that Blogmaster but I was leaving the photos up to you which is irresponsible of me. I'm not sure about my technical abilities to do this but I'll try next time! Promise!

Lance said...

Photo now added from Facebook. The girl and the dress are as stunning as you have described them.

For future reference Ann, What you do is point your phone (mobile) at the screen, go into camera mode, then click.

Ann Alexander said...

Blogmaster, you make it sound so simple but these things often don't come out right for me!

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