Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Sat 11: Spanish City Rollers @ Community Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival, Front Street, Tynemouth. 12 noon. Free.
Sat 11: Jazz Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival (o/s Tynemouth Priory), Tynemouth. Free. Vieux Carré Jazzmen (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Castillo Nuevo Trio (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Day 1/2.
Sat 11: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 11: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Beehive, Hartley Lane, Earsdon NE25 0SZ. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. The Hot 4 with guest Colin Aitchison (trumpet, vocals).
Sat 11: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man + Adam Millington @ St John’s Chapel, Town Hall, Weardale DL13 1QF. 5:00pm (doors). £16.26., £10.84., £8.67., £5.42 (under 18).
Sat 11: Milne Glendinning Band @ Langley Tracks, Langley-on-Tyne. 5:30pm. POSTPONED!
Sat 11: Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:30pm.
Sat 11: Karberry Big Band @ Forest Hall Social Club. 7:00pm. £7.00.
Sat 11: Ray Quinn: The King of Swing @ The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.

Sun 12: Jazz Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival (o/s Tynemouth Priory), Tynemouth. Free. Trilogy of Four (11:00am); River City Jazzmen (12:10pm); Delta Prophets (1:20pm); B.O.C.K.S. Set (2:30pm); Mouth of the Tyne All Stars (3:40pm). Day 2/2.
Sun 12: Phantom Bagman + OUTRI @ The Bandstand, The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free.
Sun 12: 58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00-3:00pm. Free.
Sun 12: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Easington Social Welfare Centre. 2:00-4:00pm. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 12: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 12: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 12: Guisborough Big Band @ Zetland Park Methodist Church, Redcar. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. Charity gig in aid of Parkinson’s Society.
Sun 12: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 12: The Bridge Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 13: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 13: Shildon Little Brass Bash @ Locomotion, Shildon. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Mon 13: Quarrington Little Brass Bash @ Quarrington Community Centre. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.

Tue 14: Vieux Carre Hot 4 @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. 12:30pm. £15.00 (reservations: 0191 237 3697). ‘July Jazz Barbecue!’
Tue 14: Crook Little Brass Bash @ Crook Community Centre. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Tue 14: Barnard Castle Little Brass Bash @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Tue 14: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Tickets from Tully’s, Rothbury. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Tue 14: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 15: Willington Big Brass Bash @ Town Park, Willington. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Wed 15: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Café Needle’s Eye, Promenade, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea NE64 6XE. 6:00pm. Free. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Wed 15: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 15: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 15: Side Café Orkestar @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00 (£11.00. adv.); £12.00 concs (£8.00. concs adv.).

Wednesday, June 08, 2022

Album review: Scott Hamilton - Classics

Scott Hamilton (tenor sax); Jan Lundgren (piano); Hans Backenroth (bass); Kristian Leth (drums)

Back in the day when the Tin Pan Alley tunesmiths ran out of inspiration which equated with running out of the old doh-re-mi they would dip into the vast legacy of the great composers safe in the knowledge that who ever they plagiarised they weren't going to leap out of the grave saying "I'll see you in court." After adding words, changing the tempo and maybe adding or subtracting a few chords, a potential hit song was, if not born at least given a new name and a new life.

Jazz musicians, who have built careers mining the contents of the GASbook, weren't immune either. Art Tatum recorded Massenet's Élégie and Dvořák's Humoresque to great effect whilst Benny Goodman did a job on Paganini's Caprice XXIV.

Hamilton, who played in one of BG's later bands, has chosen nine pieces that began life in the concert halls and salons of past centuries including Dvořák's Humoresque.

It's all done very tastefully and I doubt if any of the composers are turning in their grave. Hamilton has a tone to die for somewhere in between Ben Webster and Zoot Sims which isn't a bad place to be. If I had to choose just one track (which would be nigh impossible) it would be Moon Love from Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony. A great theme to begin with that was later given the vocal treatment by Sinatra on his Moonlight Sinatra album and here, sees Hamilton at his balladic best.

Accompanied by three of Scandinavia's finest the result is a recording to appeal to those who likc the less hackneyed standards played with feeling and originality.

Available on CD, LP and digital on June 24 on Stunt Records. Lance

I Think of You (Rachmaninoff); The Lamp is Low (Ravel); If You Are But a Dream (Rubinstein); Theme From Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky); My Reverie (Debussy); Yours is my Heart Alone (Lehár); Moon Love (Tchaikovsky); Humoresque (Dvořák); Skymning (Chopin)

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