Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. SOLD OUT!
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: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Thursday, April 22, 2021

Album review: Spike Wilner Trio - Aliens & Wizards

Spike Wilner (piano); Tyler Mitchell (double bass); Anthony Pinciotti (drums)

Spike Wilner is the man behind the success of Smalls (no apostrophe!) and Mezzrow (that's Mezzrow, partner venue to Smalls Jazz Club). Throughout the pandemic Wilner has kept the Greenwich Village, NYC venues going, seven nights a week, periodic lockdowns not withstanding. Now, in a new collaboration with Cory Weeds' Cellar Music Group, pianist Wilner has released an album in the company of long term trio partners Tyler Mitchell, bass, and drummer Anthony Pinciotti. 

Aliens & Wizards, recorded at GB's Juke Joint in August 2020, comprises nine tracks spanning some three quarters of an hour's playing time. Six of Wilner's compositions plus three distinct, distinctly different, numbers - Righty-O! (John Ellis), Blue Gardenia (Bob Russell-Lester Lee) and Stella By Starlight (Ned Washington-Victor Young) - showcase the trio's command of a wide range of material heard on the album. Righty-O!, taken at a sparkling tempo, suggests the three musicians are comfortable in one another's company. In these pandemic times Wilner's Adagio (Mitchell's mournful arco bass intro) and Prayer for Peace (beautifully recorded, a blues of sorts) reflect, perhaps, a year of pain and loss endured by many in NYC and across the globe. 

Wilner's Mindset is surprisingly different to the material heard elsewhere on the album. Free-ish, convincingly so, with a baroque-like ending. The twists and turns of the title track, Aliens & Wizards, features some dazzling piano playing from bandleader Wilner and the set closer, Trick Baby, suggests composer/pianist/club manager Wilner is a fan of Oscar P (and Nat Cole, if Blue Gardenia is anything to go by). 

Aliens & Wizards by the Spike Wilner Trio is available from tomorrow (Friday 23 April) on the Cellar Music Group label (cat no. CM120120). This evening (Thursday 22) Spike Wilner will be playing piano in his own club (Mezzrow) in a trio performance with bassist Tyler Mitchell and drummer Anthony Pinciotti. The first of two sets begins at half past midnight (the early hours of Friday, BST). 

Russell
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3 comments :

Unknown said...

Thank you for this lovely review!

Spike Wilner

Thursday, April 22, 2021 5:18:00 pm
Spike Wilner said...

Thank you for this lovely review!

Thursday, April 22, 2021 5:49:00 pm
Patti said...

Hey Spike! We'll look forward to seeing you in NYC, in Smalls or Mezzrow's - when international travel is allowed again!! We're loving your livestreams for now - time difference notwithstanding - but can't wait for the real thing .......

Friday, April 23, 2021 4:57:00 pm

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