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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:15pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bywell Hall, Stocksfield. 1:30pm. Northumberland County Show.
Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm.
Sat 24: Dean Stockdale Quartet + Mingus Sings @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Stockdale (piano); Tim Williams (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums) + Mingus Sings: Sara Oschlag (vocals); Alan Barnes (reeds); Tim Lapthorn (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); Clark Tracey (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sat 24: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 24: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sat 24: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 24: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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, March 24, 2021

Album review: Avishai Cohen w. Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra - Two Roses

Avishai  Cohen (bass vocal); Elchin Shirinov (piano); Mark Giuliana (drums) + Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Alexander Hanson) 

The technicolor Director’s Cut” of the Israeli bass master’s small group’s biggest hits! Cohen has previously augmented his outstanding groups to include strings, but this goes a step further, with a 92-strong leviathan orchestra expanding a selection of his old favourites to the epic symphonic scale.  While the undeniable rhythmic and melodic intensity of his Arab/folk tunes suggest they would survivthis enlargement, I have to say I had doubts whether they would benefit from it.   

 

My first listen was in the lockdown home barber shop, where my drummer son’s formidable manual dexterity was put to good use scaling back my overgrown locks.  Although the erstwhile trimmer does an excellent job, his slow but sure method ensured we had plenty of time to savour all 12 songs on the whole 60 minute album, as well as a bottle of Old Peculier to calm the (customer’s at least!) nerves.

  

This first outing left me intrigued but underwhelmed in respect ocomparison with the vibrant and agile originals, and the hair cut was altogether more of a success!  However, as Cohen himself notes: Of course, 80 people won’t play a beat like two or three people would. There’s a kind of inertia, which you have to get used to, and you have to understand how they breathe. It’s like a horse, at once beautiful, powerful and delicate.”   With this in mind, subsequent listening was conducted with the benefit of full high quality stereo reproduction with sub-wooferand no tonsorial distractions.   In such near-concert hall conditions (!) there is a majestic sweep to the music, which will appeal to many audiences across the classical and popular spectrum - the real thing would no doubt be stunning. 

 

Cohen marshals the orchestra’s resources with some aplomb, approaching Mahlerian in places, with swooning tuttis, strutting bass section pizzicatos  and majestic Wunderhorns, mingled with stirring melodies borne by the well drilled violins and wind sections. And yet, despite the accuracy and power of the orchestra, in most cases I felt the beating heart of his music was diminished in this deluxe treatment.  Worse, there are several egregious forays into the twee vocals of his later albums, especially When I’m Falling and Nature Boy, where Cohen comes across as a journeyman Kurt Elling.  The instrumental A Child is Born (Thad Jones 1969) is a curious choice, with the schmaltz relieved only by a nice bass solo. 

 

The high spots are unsurprisingly the songs with the strongest tunes, which retain the jaunty folk rhythms, and showcase the power trio of Cohen, Guiliana and Shirinov. The magnificent Song for My Brother gains some new brass voices,  while the traditional, bouncing title song is one of the few with obviously improvised sections. These featura great piano break and some subtle yet powerful drumming, which also feature on Emotional Storm.  Likewise, Arab Medley makes the most of the catchy rhythms, with some authentic and rich sung lines.  

 

But these few songs are the exception, and my final verdict is the same post hair-cut – while this album may attract some new listeners, the definitive jazz versions remaiCohen’s outstanding small group originals and this de luxe treatment is something of an indulgence.  

 

Chris K 


Try/buy CD, Double Vinyl LP 


Label: 
Naïve/BelieveCatalogue Number: M7370, 
 Release Date : 16/04/2021 

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