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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

Thu 19: Gareth John & the SOS Big Band @ The Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £25.00. CANCELLED!

Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: David Gray's Flextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £21.50. ‘Time After Time’.
Fri 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 20: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

Sat 21: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: Phoenix 4 @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington, Northumberland. 1:00-2:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £18.00. + £1.08 bf.
Sun 22: JazzMain @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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.

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

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

Listen to Lover Come Back to Me from Jazzmeia Horn's new album Dear Love

(Press release)

September 2021 welcomes the release of Dear Love, the brand new project by US jazz luminary, vocalist and composer Jazzmeia Horn. A winner of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition and the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition,

Jazzmeia Horn is also a NAACP Image Award winning artist. Having signed to Concord Records, her debut album A Social Call achieved great critical acclaim, receiving a GRAMMY Award® nomination in the category of Best Jazz Vocal Album. Jazzmeia’s second album Love and Liberation, received yet another GRAMMY® nomination in the same category. Now Jazzmeia Horn makes a triumphant return with a big band orientated album – a notable departure from her previous work and a unique proposition, undoubtedly set to build on her compelling reputation as one of America’s most exciting and impactful jazz stars.

Dear Love, addresses three specific aspects of Jazzmeia’s existence, her community, her lover and herself. The album is infused with poetry and spoken word through letters of encouragement – it is the first time that these proponents of Jazzmeia’s creative talents feature on her recorded work. Dear Love is also one of the first times that a black female vocalist has written and fronted a big band album in its entirety (this having historically always been a male preoccupation) and the addition of strings elevates the album to that of a major orchestral project.

Having embarked on an exhilarating voyage of discovery by listening to art
ists such as Booker T, Little Jimmy Scott, Bebop Betty Carter, Frank Wess, Jackie McLean, René McLean, George Coleman J.J. Johnson and many more pioneering figures in early jazz, an intuition like no other developed within Jazzmeia’s psyche, allowing her to assimilate and absorb what she has heard and fully digest it until it is attached to her soul. This gift allows Jazzmeia to carry the torch for these legends of yesteryear, while heralding in a new and evolved era for the tradition of straight-ahead, classic jazz.

Similarly inspired by musicians such as Erykah Badu and her collaborative work with rappers such as Common and Talib Kweli, as well as Lauren Hill’s status within the Fugees, Jazzmeia Horn provides a unique slant to her work by combining these influences with the nuances of iconic jazz figures such as those mentioned above. The result is a sound that simultaneously holds classic qualities and a contemporary edge.

The making of Dear Love citing Jazzmeia and her collaborators’ journey throughout the project is being filmed in order to capture the creative process and to further demonstrate the concept behind the album itself. This documentary footage will be broadcast on network television in spring 2022. Jazzmeia also plans to tour the album extensively, with some flagship shows with The Frankfurt Philharmonic Orchestra scheduled for October 2021.

Dear Love is an ambitious and exhilarating project that represents some of Jazzmeia Horn’s very best work to date, reinforcing her status as one of the most versatile and exciting international jazz artists in the world today.

Listen to Lover Come Back to Me from the album which is released on Sept. 10.

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