Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18878 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 742 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 4.) 21.

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

September.

Mon 07: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 07: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 08: Seijiro Murayama & Jean-Luc Guionnet @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Warwick St., Newcastle, NE2 1BB. 7.00pm. £10.00 (advance); £12.00 (on door); £.15.00 (solidarity).
Tue 08: SH#RP Collective @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 08: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: 58 Jazz Collective @ Hartlepool Cricket Club. 7:30pm. £7.00.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE. Excellent trio.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Jacenaite All Crew @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 10: Emma Rawicz INKYRA @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.30. Sage Two. Line-up: Emma Rawicz (sax); Scottie Thompson (piano, keyboards, synth); David Preston (guitar); Kevin Glasgow (bass guitar); Jack Thomas (drums).

Fri 11: Esther Bennett @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £10.00. Esther Bennett (vocals); Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass).
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £14.09 (inc. bf).

Sat 12: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 12: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £16.26 (inc. bf).

Sun 13: 58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00-3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: King Bees @ Shape Patisserie, Darlington. 3:00pm. Free. Duo (Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor). A Rhythm & Blues Fringe event. Blues excellence.
Sun 13: Alligator Gumbo @ The Cluny. 5:00pm. £17.15.; £11.43; £5.72.
Sun 13: Eternal Triangle + Andy Champion @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Thursday, December 02, 2021

Album review: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings

Art Blakey (drums); Lee Morgan (trumpet); Wayne Shorter (tenor sax); Bobby Timmons (piano); Jymie Merritt (bass).

Another  recently discovered, previously unreleased, gem from a record company's vaults which, in this case, is Blue Note. 

Say no more! Blue Note and  Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers is an unbeatable combination that, sixty years on, still sounds good.

This is one of the classic Messenger line-ups (weren't they all classic line-ups?) and it's pure magic hearing Morgan and Shorter stretching out at length even if the material is over-familiar - these guys could make Pop Goes the Weasel sound like the most exciting thing you've ever heard (fortunately they don't face that challenge here!).

Two versions of Now's the Time, both bookended with extensive drums solos, Blakey's no shrinking violet and he could drive a band like few others - pushing the soloists to and beyond their limits. The first lasted for over 22 minutes, the second a miserly 17 minutes

It wouldn't be a Jazz Messengers' gig without Bobby Timmons' Moanin' and there's 13 minutes of it whilst Benny Golson's Blues March is on parade for 11 minutes and 45 seconds.

Morgan is featured on 'Round Midnight, the sole ballad of the set, and he squeezes just the right amount of emotion out of it without any over-sentimentality.

A Night in Tunisia is the showstopper. Buhaina pounding out multi-cultural rhythms before stopping abruptly and leaving Morgan to play unaccompanied. The trumpet player threw in a few crowd-pleasing licks that didn't detract from a peerless display of dexterity. We thought that it was all over until Wayne Shorter stepped up to the plate and  did likewise - it was now!

This must have been quite a concert and I haven't given Timmons and Merritt the credit they deserved. Both were impressive and, as for the leader - simply the greatest ... 103 minutes of magic - Lance 

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings. Available Dec. 10 on Blue Note double CD or double vinyl LP.

Now's the Time (1); Moanin'; Blues March; The Theme (1); Dat Dere; 'Round Midnight; Now's the Time (2); A Night in Tunisia; The Theme (2)

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