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Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 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

17873 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 194 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (March 14).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30pm-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 22: Swamp Stomp String Band @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Sat 22: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: The Great Deceivers @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Tom Atkinson & co play King Crimson (1969-1974). Atkinson (guitar); Josh Bentham (alto sax); Stu Dawson (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums).

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: Fred Wesley & the New JB’s @ The Cluny. 7:30pm (doors). £27.50. POSTPONED! New date Wednesday 26 November.

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Hannabiell & Midnight Blue @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 27: Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Superb blues duo.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm.
Fri 28: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 28: Mostly Moonlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 28: Juliana Day & Manon McCoy @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00. advance. 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

Saturday, May 22, 2021

Mornington Lockett Quartet with Henry Lowther livestreaming from the 606 - May 22

(Screenshot by Lance)
Mornington Lockett (tenor sax); Henry Lowther (trumpet/flugel); Mike Gorman (piano); Geoff Gascoyne (bass); Mark Fletcher (drums).

One of the good old good ones from the Joe Henderson pad, a number beloved of jammers and hard-boppers - Recorda Me got things moving. Lockett doesn't go along with the theory that less is more he's a firm adherent of the school that says more is more and, in his case it's true. He played it every which way including, most importantly, the right way. The crowd actually present showed their appreciation, after some encouragement, by applauding the solos. I'd begun to think they'd forgotten how to do so the doors having been closed for so long.

(Screenshot by Lance)
Henry Lowther, a young 79 (everyone born after me is young) belied his years as the band, now a quintet, took another Henderson humdinger, Home Stretch, on a madcap gallop that culminated in exchanges of sixes rather than the expected fours. All five got into the act with Lowther the more restrained, albeit no less effective in his solos unlike Morny who took the altissimo range of the tenor to heights where even sopraninos would fear to tread.

(Screenshot by Lance)
Henry removed his cardigan and switched to flugel for a spine-tingling interpretation of I Fall in Love Too Easily. Sensitive backing from piano, bass and maybe brushes, suggested that if someone had dropped a pin they'd have been escorted from the premises for rowdy behaviour - nobody dropped anything, except maybe their jaw at the sheer tonal beauty obtainable from a piece of bent metal piping!

Lee Morgan's Ceora followed. Lowther said he thought it was a drink you used to get at the cinema (Kia-Ora) instead it was a nice, rather hypnotic, dreamy kind of tune which the next one wasn't. This was another Joe H - Jinirikisha.  Inspired, we were told, by a trip to Japan.

(Screenshot by Lance)

The final number - for those of us who were streaming - was Cole Porter's So in Love*.  It had a Latin, slightly jazz rocky feel to it - or was that Porter turning over in his grave? If it was, then shame upon him, they'd just given his maudlin opus a new lease of life.

And so ended another great livestream from the 606. For those who'd actually made it to the club in person this was only the first set - let's hope  their second set was better than that of Sunderland's second half this afternoon when they departed from the play-offs but hey, that's only football, this is music - a whole different ball game! Lance

* Lockett asked the audience if they knew which show So In Love came from. Nobody knew. I was yelling "Kiss Me Kate" but, as I was 250 miles away he didn't hear me although, if my neighbours did I'll be getting some knowing glances tomorrow!

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