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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

1803759 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 480 of them this year alone and, so far, 58 this month (June 18).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

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

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Midweek, it must be Small's

(Screenshot by Russell)
Lew Tabackin Quartet live streaming from Small's, NYC - April 13

Lew Tabackin (tenor sax); John Eckert (trumpet, flugelhorn); Yasushi Nakamura (double bass); Jason Tiemann (drums)

Live streams at Small's consist of two one hour sets. This review is of Tuesday evening's second set, starting at half past midnight (BST). Two octogenarians joined forces with two of New York's younger generation to play some familiar and not so familiar numbers. The principals, Lew Tabackin, 81 years young, blew tenor sax and flute, and John Eckert, at 82, blew trumpet and flugel. 

A Tabackin chart, a blues titled Chasing the Carrot laid down a marker, our bandleader hopping around like a spring chicken. Coleman Hawkins' Hanid (Tabackin said Hank Jones claimed to have written the number) featured Tabackin on tenor with an opportunity for bassist Yasushi Nakamura to show what he could do. Yet another great bass player is Mr Nakamura. Body and Soul made the cut, as did Trinkle Tinkle (Kinda wants to make me go to the bathroom quipped Tabackin), indeed, Monk's composition just about came out tops with Jason Tiemann contributing a marvellous drum solo. Jimmy Knepper's Leaves of Absinthe based on the changes to Lullaby of the Leaves closed the set with Nakamura once again impressing.     

(Screenshot by Russell)
Clovis Nicolas Quintet live streaming from Small's, NYC - April 14 

John Boutellier (tenor sax); Jeremy Pelt (trumpet); Miki Yamanaka (piano); Clovis Nicolas (double bass); Jimmy Macbride (drums)

Small's French Jazz series benefits from financial input from the French government and this evening's set presented bassist Clovis Nicolas with his quintet featuring fellow countryman John Boutellier who blew some tremendous tenor sax, upholding the Greenwich Village venue's reputation as a NYC bebop hotspot. Boutellier's frontline partner just happened to be Jeremy Pelt. The post bop/post Blakey trumpeter matched the Frenchman every step of the way. 

Miki Yamanaka seemingly picks up lots of Big Apple gigs and it's no surprise, the NYC resident Japanese pianist is a fine player. Drummer Kimmy Macbride is another making a name for himself in the hothouse environment of the city that never sleeps. A fine quintet, its leader Monsieur Nicolas content to let the music and the musicians speak. Set highlights? Hutch (written in honour of drummer Gregory Hutchinson) and a swift take on Fine and Dandy.  
Russell

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