Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18263 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 117 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 6), 17

From This Moment On ...

February

Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm . £9.00. Dennis (trumpet, flugelhorn); Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Fri 13: Joe Steels @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 13: Tom Remon & John Moriarty @ The Ship Isis, Silksworth Row, Sunderland SR1 3QJ. 7:00pm. £10.00 + £1.00 bf.
Fri 13: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm.

Sat 14: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 14: Big Joe Louis + Michael Littlefield @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00. Jumpin’ Hot Club.
Sat 14: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Trio + Jason Holcomb. Free.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Wild Women of Wylam @ Ye Olde Cross, Ryton. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: Yorkshire Gypsy Swing Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Jasper Lo + Daniel Chandler Trio @ Little Buildings, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00. + bf.
Mon 16: Joe Steels Group @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blue Patch album tour.

Tue 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. 12:30pm. £9.50. Tickets: 0191 237 3697. ‘Jazz ‘n’ Pancakes’.
Tue 17: John Pope & John Garner @ The Great Hall, Sutherland Building, Northumbria University. 1:15pm. Free. Double bass & violin.
Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Hirst (drums).

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: George Shearing Jazz Moments.

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

Monday, January 11, 2021

Album review: The 14 Jazz Orchestra - Cartoon Bebop

Quite an amazing album! I might even go so far as to say a landmark in big band development. Ten core horns and an assortment of drummers, bassists, guitarists and pianists zooming - and I use the word intentionally - in and out of the virtual studio.

The title track brings to mind the mighty Boyd Raeburn Orchestra which was, in itself, an innovative  big band in the 1940s, with its boppy lines and unorthodox instrumentation. Composer Dan Bonsanti gives Cartoon Bebop some quirky lines - at one stage Ding Dong the Witch is Dead seems to creep in helping to ensure that the music lives up to the title!
There's ear-catching solos on every track. Ed Maina is perfect on piccolo during Chick Corea's Got a Match?, fantasic on flute on I'm All Smiles and amazing on alto on Cartoon Bebop and Herbie Hancock's Driftin'.

Ed Calle's tenor is heard to advantage on Cartoon Bebop, Stanley Clarke's Dayride, Gotta Match?, When I Look In Your Eyes, Chick's Duende and another Dan Bonsanti original - A Day Tripper's Blues Buffet - as well as blowing soprano on Airto's Misturada.

Also heard soloing are Jason Carder and Cisco Dimas on trumpets, Neal Bosanti on oboe. The full SP is on the graphics below - I must send the title track to one of the big band radio shows.
Release date January 15.
Lance


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