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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

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: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
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.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

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, June 08, 2021

Eleven Jazz Coffee Table Photo Books

Jazz and photography have always seemed to me to be natural bedfellows. Sometimes, if the photographer (jazzographer?) captures the right moment, the player's expression tells you almost as much as the actual music does. Some musicians are naturally photogenic - whether by accident or intent - they are a photographer's dream.

BSH is proud to have had access to some superb shots from Ken Drew, Malcolm Sinclair and other hotshots both past and present. Even when restricted to screenshots, Ken Drew's collages are achieving legendary status.

However, this exercise isn't about the present but a look at some of the classic photo books I've collected over the years.

K.Abt: Jazz Giants. A Visual Retrospective Compilation. 1986, Billboard Publications. 
Not all of the photos are by Abt and several of them are by other photographers whose photos appear in their own collections. However, it's worthy of any coffee table, not to mention the shelves of a library near you.

William Claxton: Jazz Seen. 1989 Taschen. 
Perhaps the greatest of all the jazz camera men, he captures the images almost as if he was part of the band!

Gene Fernett: A Thousand Golden Horns. 1966 The Pendell Company.
A look at the big bands and the dance bands of the thirties and forties. the text is probably more interesting than the photos although they do complement each other.

William P. Gottlieb: The Golden Age of Jazz. 1979 Quartet Books. 
As the title implies the images move from early jazz to early Bird/Miles. Lots of text accompanies the photos making it more than a mere visual tome.

Orrin Keepnews & Bill Grauer Jr.: A Pictorial History of Jazz. 1965 Spring Books.
I don't know if it's been re-published but my copy does the music no favours. Dull matt photos that lose the impact of the glossies in the other books. this is a shame as the text is great but, hey we're looking back 56 years and the photos a helluva lot longer...!

Jim Marshall: Jazz. 2005. Chronicle Books LLC (San Francisco). 
Some terrific shots by Marshall who began as a rock photographer and found himself equally at home in the jazz world. I think  this is, maybe, my favourite.

Robert Nippoldt: Jazz - New York in the Roaring Twenties. 2013 Taschen.
This doesn't really belong as they aren't photographs but, the drawings by Nippoldt are excellent - plus there's a CD that comes with it so, as well as the sketches, we hear music by Jelly Roll, Fats, Duke, Bessie, Bix, Venuti and many more. It was originally reviewed by myself on BSH in 2013.

David Redfern: david redfern's jazz album. 1980 Eel Pie Publishing.
Undoubtedly the greatest UK jazz photographer of his generation. His photo of Buddy Rich is considered the definitive one.

Michael Randolph: "Popsie" =N.Y.= Popular Music through the camera lens of William "Popsie" Randolph. 2007 Hal Leonard.
"Popsie" had the best possible access for shooting jazz musicians (and later rock musicians) he was band manager for both Benny Goodman and Woody Herman in their greatest years. He didn't stop there, he moved on to Broadway (one of the best photos of Streisand - he even makes her look beautiful) and on to the rock, pop, and soul legends of the day.

David D.Spitzer: Jazzshots. 1979 Zerkim Press.
Not quite sure how I stumbled across this gem - probably in a bookshop - but the black and white shots are brilliant. there's a one of Dexter Gordon that runs the famous one with the spiralling smoke pretty damn close.

Peter Symes & Peter Gamble (text): Focus on Jazz. 1988 Robert Hale.
I know this takes the total to eleven but I almost left it out which would have been most unfair. Also I note that it  gives Humph's date of birth as May 23, 1921 which meant he would have been 100 last month something that slipped our eagle eyes and for which we are duly apologetic.

Of course there are many more books. I don't, unfortunately, have the Milt Hinton book which, I'm told, is terrific. There's also a Facebook page - Rare Jazz Photos - that has some good, often previously unpublished, photos of the greats. It's well worth checking out.
Lance

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