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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17719 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 39 of them this year alone and, so far, 39 this month (Jan. 15).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Sun 19: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm. ‘Glenn Miller & the Rat Pack Era’.
Sun 19: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:15-7:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 19: Tenement Jazz Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 19: Nick Ross Orchestra @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Sun 19: Freight Train (Tobin/Noble/Clarvis) @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 19: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 21: ???

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
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: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 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

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Album Review: Rebecca DuMaine and The Dave Miller Trio – Someday, Someday

Rebecca DuMaine (vocals); Dave Miller (piano); Bill Belasco (drums); Chuck Bennett (bass)

I quote from the publicity notes, which is as good a description as any: 'performing uplifting music during the pandemic that is both realistic and swinging. Their set of standards and two of the singer's originals are filled with warm vocals, boppish piano solos, fresh ideas, and variety'.

To enlarge on the above, Ms DuMaine sings some quite sad love songs in a jaunty, pacey, style, as in I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan, which suggests that the song is about survival, good to hear about during a pandemic. I knew I was enjoying the album when I realised that I was tapping my feet, especially to numbers such as As Long As I Live (Harold Arlen), an amusing love song about looking after your health as well as your love life.

The voice is fresh, tuneful, and the style is thoughtful when needed, as on Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now. The instrumentalists do their stuff with aplomb, solos mostly from a pianist who never completely leaves the main tune behind, which I find appealing. Full marks for a varied selection of songs, including Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again (Naturally), a down-to-earth account of loss.

The original songs are Someday, Someday, in which the singer wonders how life will be after the pandemic, a Latin beat from drums and percussion; the other is Time To Get Unstuck, with a 1970's style groove and lyrics about getting out of a rut. Then there is Cry Me A River, a song performed maybe somewhat too often, but this version gets by as a fast jazz waltz with a fine bass solo.

Ms DuMaine grew up in the San Francisco area and still lives in Northern California. She has acted on the stage and in commercials and voice-overs and is also a professor of voice and speech. This is the sixth album that she has recorded with her father's band,  the Dave Miller Trio. Mr Miller is from Long Island, New York. He has been playing piano since the age of three, was classically trained, but switched to playing jazz as a teenager.

The CD, issued on Summit Records, is available everywhere. See www.rebeccadumaine.com

Ann Alex

Just Friends; Alone Again (Naturally); Samba De Mon Coeur Qui Bat; The Gentleman Is A Dope; Someday, Someday; Both Sides Now; Time To Get Unstuck (Happy Little New Song); As Long As I Live; On A Clear Day; I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan; Cry Me A River;  La Vie En Rose/Au Privave; Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams; Sunny.

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