Bebop Spoken There

Ron Carter quoting Sonny Rollins: ''What we call jazz - that's keeping the world in equilibrium. I don't care what kind of music you like out here today. It all comes from jazz.'' (DownBeat August, 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

18799 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 663 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Aug. 12) 32.

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

August

Thu 13: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 13: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 13: 58 Jazz Collective @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Stranton, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! Back on Aug. 27.
Thu 13: 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 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: John Settle Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. John Settle (vibes); Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Fri 14: Bold Big Band @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £8.00 + bf.

Sat 15: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 15: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £16.26.

Sun 16: Vintage Explosion @ Cliffe Park, Roker, Sunderland SR6 8DB. 5:00-10:30pm. £44.00 (inc. bf).

Mon 17: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Album review: Monty Alexander: the Montreux Years

Two vinyl albums from four sessions spread over thirty-three years by Monty Alexander at the Montreux Jazz Festival although it was back in 1976 when he first played there.

These previously unreleased tracks serve as a reminder as to just what a great pianist he was and indeed still is. He swings like nobody's business with a technique comparable to his early idols. On top of that, his Jamaican heritage - he was born there in 1944 before moving to Florida and then New York twenty years later - is never too far away making a seamless fusion between the two cultures. He is to jazz what Bob Marley was to reggae. The final track, A Nod to Bob, played over a reggae rhythm acknowledges his fellow Jamaican. 

The pure jazz side is best exemplified in the trio tracks and the finger-busting solo piece The Serpent. The Jamaican Project and the Harlem Kingston Express tracks are peppered with calypso-like rhythms that create a flavour as exotic as a Jamaican Rum Punch.

Nice guitar from Ranglin and tenor from Blake are but a few of the many highlights in this collection.

Although highly recommended, I do have one minor quibble. It would have been nice to have the tracks in chronological order. I know that with the CD version you could programme them as such but, with the CD you are shortchanged by one track or 7 minutes and 13 seconds - Quincy Jones' The Pawnbroker. It's a beautiful ballad and Alexander extracts that beauty in his own sweet way ably supported by Coleman's bass. I wouldn't be without it for all the coffee in Jamaica's Blue Mountains. Lance

Trio (July 5, 1993): Monty Alexander (piano); Ira Coleman (bass); Ed Thigpen (drums).

Jamaican Project (July 16, 1995): Monty Alexander (piano/keys); Ernest Ranglin (guitar); Robert Thomas Jr. (hand drum); Dwight Dawes (keys); Carlton Messam (bass); Rolando Wilson (drums); Robert Angus (guitar).

Harlem Kingston Express (July 13, 2014): Monty Alexander (piano); Hassan Shakur (double bass); Obed Calvaire (drums); Andy Bassford (guitar); Leon Duncan (bass); Karl Wright (drums).

Harlem Kingston Express (June 30, 2016): Monty Alexander (piano); Hassan Shakur (double bass); Andy Bassford (guitar); Leon Duncan (bass); Karl Wright (drums/perc); Jason Brown (drums); Ron Blake (tenor sax).

Vinyl Tracklist:

A1) The Serpent (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1995) 05:48

A2) The Work Song (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2016) 07:53

A3) Hurricane Come and Gone (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2016) 09:49

B1) Night Mist Blues (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2014) 08:14

B2) LinsteadMarket (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1993) 08:34

B3) Crying (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1995) 07:45

C1) No Woman No Cry / Get Up Stand Up (Medley) (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 2014) 08:14

C2) Renewal (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1993) 09:46

D1) Pawnbroker (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1993)* 07:13

D2) A Nod to Bob (Live - Montreux Jazz Festival 1995) 11:58

*LP & Digital only track

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