Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18336 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 190 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 28), 90

From This Moment On ...

March

Sat 07: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 12 noon. Open Section (all day, closing concert performance at 7:00pm). £15.00. (£20.00 weekend ticket). Day 2/3.
Sat 07: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Antônio Carlos Jobim: Meditation & How Insensitive. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free. Sat 07: Hot Club du Nord @ St Mary’s Parish Hall, Barnard Castle. 7:00pm. £20.00., £8.00 under 16. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 07: Taupe + Marigolds + Mother Man @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 9:30am. School Section & Youth Section (all day). £10.00. (£20.00 weekend ticket). Day 3/3.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: TRIO-SKW @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Josh Savage (drums); Lucas Kelly (organ); Tim ‘Bim’ Williams (guitar).
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Trish Clowes’ My Iris @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 08: Durham University Big Band & Foot Notes @ Elvet Methodist Church, Durham. 7:30pm. £10.00., £8.00., £6.00. Big band & a cappella ensemble.

Mon 09: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free

Thu 12: Boomslang @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Fri 13: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm . £9.00.
Fri 13: The SH#RP Collective @ 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: Soothsayers + Rookie Numbers @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.

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

Saturday, March 27, 2021

KSTV: Playback session. Yusef Lateef's "Eastern Sounds" - March 27

(Screenshot by Ken Drew)
Giacomo Smith (tenor sax/soprano sax/flute); Will Barry (piano); Will Sach (bass); Jas Kayser (drums).

Giacomo is a musician of such diversity that it is nigh impossible to pigeonhole him. A Giacomo of all trades  musical and master of them too! Not many players can blow like Bechet one night and show up as Lateef the next! Not only that, he does the former on soprano and clarinet and the latter on soprano, tenor and flute. I can't wait until he does a Roland Kirk Playback Session!

The music tonight was based on Yusef Lateef's album Eastern Sounds, an album that has developed a cult following and, as Giacomo said regarding Lateef, "You either love him or hate him". 

It's an intriguing album that mixes the exotic with the familiar and the unexpected. Tonight's band kept all those factors in place. The Love Theme from Spartacus and The Love Theme from The Robe were far removed from the movie soundtracks but, nevertheless, back in the day, they sold a few singles for the man who began life as Bill Evans (no relation!).

Don't Blame Me had some relatively straight forward tenor playing and Snafu which, for some reason I missed - maybe I was preparing my nightcap of Horlicks - I'm sure swung along as nicely as GS said it did.

By and large, the other numbers were very much of the eastern persuasion and, at times (like all times ), compulsive listening.

(Collage by Ken Drew)
Tonight's rhythm section were the perfect choice - Cleasby, Sach and Kayser  - you need a trio? Look no further. You need a quartet? Look no further.

No more midweek gigs at Smitty's lined up for the immediate future so we will have to wait until next Saturday for their take on Monk's Underground album.
Lance 

Plum Blossom; Blues For the Orient; The Love Theme from Spartacus; Don't Blame Me; The Love Theme from The Robe; Snafu; Chinq Miaou; Purple Flower.

1 comment :

Mike Farmer said...

Caught the second set at the Club 43 and remember he played a fast Dexterity on a silver King tenor.He had a huge sound and he brought his own pianist, Stan Jones who I think later moved to Hollywood and worked in the TV and film studios.

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