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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Tue 21: ???

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Album Review: Vicki Burns – Lotus Blossom Days

Vicki Burns (vocals); Art Hirahara (piano); Sam Bevan (bass/arr.); Billy Drummond (drums); Dayna Stephens (tenor/bari sax tks 3, 4, 12); Josh Deutsch (trumpet tks 1, 2, 9); Mas Koga (flute/bari sax tk 2); Nick Vayenas (trombone tks 1, 9)

An album from yet another very good jazz songstress who is accompanied by instrumentalists who are well on the money. This poses the reviewer, with the problem of what to say that is original. I must do it otherwise the Editor-In-Chief will sack me! Help!

Vicki Burns deserves better than the title of songstress. This lady has a pleasing wide-ranging voice, crystal clear diction, and she knows how to sing as if she means it, notably on the alluring Love Spell and on Coltrane's Equinox, where the vocal tones suggest a darker side to love. She duets with the bass on a couple of the tracks, actually singing the same notes wordlessly, which adds interest to scat.

Ms Burns hails from Maine USA, knew from childhood that she wanted to be a singer and, after studying music at New Hampshire University, soon became involved in jazz, singing in clubs in Boston, New York City and the San Francisco area. At present she performs in NYC and also teaches. This is her third album as leader.

The album is made up of three originals, Love Spell; Siren Song; You Don't Have to Believe; three standards; and six songs that began life as instrumentals. The songs chronicle the arc of a love affair, from seduction, through the bitter sweetness of a failing relationship, to a wider view of love, life and happiness. Quite a tall order for an album, but this just about manages the task, with skilled piano solos to add to the mix, and some interesting brass and sax input on some tracks.

Notable numbers include two deliciously decadent Strayhorn songs, and I quote lyrics from Bittersweet  'a string of promises tied in a knot of lies' (Roger Schore). Then we have You Don’t Have to Believe, flamenco style, a keys and drums duet and a lone trumpet to finish. Ms Burns’ Siren Song is sung as if she is the daughter of the siren, very original. The album is rounded off with a satisfactory love affair in the shape of the Arlen/Mercer song Out of This World, which allows our singer to display the higher part of her range.

The album is available everywhere from July 8. See HERE. Ann Alex

If You Never Fall in Love With Me/Del Sasser; Close Your Eyes; Love Spell; Lotus Blossom Days; Bittersweet; Watch Out/The Sidewinder; A Long Way to go/Equinox; It's Over Now/Well You Needn't; You Don't Have to Believe; This Time the Dream's on me ; Siren Song; Out of This World

4 comments :

Vicki Burns said...

Thank you VERY much for the review, Lance!!

All The Best,
Vicki Burns
www.vickiburnsjazz.com

Lance said...

Don't thank me Vicki - I just provided the nuts and bolts. Thanks must go to Ann Alex who provided the words!

Vicki Burns said...

Well then! Thank you SO much Ann Alex! Your review is much appreciated!

Marty Elkins said...

Congratulations on this great review. Can't wait to get my hot hands on this! (On F/b)

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