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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mark Williams Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 23: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Mu Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!
Sun 23: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: ?

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Jamie McCredie @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. THIS WEEK ONLY JAMES BIRKETT (guitar)!
Fri 28: Luis Verde Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Knats @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.50. (inc bf.). Album launch gig. Support act TBC.
Fri 28: Black is the Color of My Voice @ The Gala, Durham. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by the life of Nina Simone, performed by Florence Odumosu.
Fri 28: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival: Musicians Unlimited @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 8:00pm. £10.00. (Weekend ticket £20.00., available on the door). Day 1/3. Musicians Unlimited in concert.
Fri 28: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

MARCH 2025

Sat 01: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 11:00am. £15.00. Day 2/3.
Sat 01: TJ Johnson Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Get your funk on! Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ The Watch House, Cullercoats. 2:00-3:30pm. Free.
Sat 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Struggle Buggy @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Blues band.
Sat 01: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 01: Jack & Jay’s Vintage Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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, November 16, 2022

Album review: Oscar Peterson - On a Clear Day

Oscar Peterson (piano); Niels Henning Ørsted Pederson (bass); Louis Hayes (drums).

I suppose the moment when jazz moved from an interest to an obsession with me was one evening in March 1955 at the City Hall, Newcastle. A concert comprising two sets. The first by the Oscar Peterson Trio and the second by Ella Fitzgerald with Don Abney on piano.

The bass and drums playing on that life changing evening, were Sammy Stokes and Tony Kinsey - both British.*

On this live album recorded for Radio Zurich in 1971, Peterson is at his supreme best and, with fellow legends Pederson and Hayes on bass and drums respectively, I'd be hard pushed to find a better piano trio recording before or since unless more buried treasures are unearthed by his widow, Kelly Peterson, who provides the album's notes.

Tatum was wonderful, and even though Oscar himself might have disagreed, when it came to sheer swing and a comparable technique, Peterson was, and still is even now - almost 15 years after his death (Dec. 23, 2007) - in my eyes, the greatest jazz pianist ever.

The standards are taken at various tempi ranging from the dreamy romanticism expressed in the emotive Young and Foolish which segues into A Time For Love, to Soft Winds that hits a nice groove before moving up a gear, to an amazing Mack the Knife

Neither Louis, Ella or Bobby Darin came within a mile of this version and he didn't even need to sing! An extended out of tempo introduction had me wondering if I really was listening to Kurt Weill's song from The Threepenny Opera. The theme emerges briefly before our boy does something rash - he exceeds the piano speed limit by about a 1000 bars a minute!

I've concentrated on Oscar who rarely shared a stage with an equal but, in Niels Henning Ørsted Pederson, he found a soulmate. Ray Brown, himself a legend, had provided sound support in previous Peterson trios without ever overshadowing the leader. However, the Danish bass player was different, he met the American at the same level which maybe inspired both of them to the amazing heights they reached during their time working together.

Louis Hayes took a relative backseat but did the business driving it along. Any drummer who could handle the tempos that Oscar set had to be the best. He came in off the back of Cannonball's quintet which would stand him in good stead and he slotted in well.

If this sounds like a rave review then I've got it right! Lance

Available Nov. 27 - Mack Avenue Music Group (and usual suspects)

*The jazz press, as was their wont in 1955, praised the Americans but slagged off the two Brits who, to my ears, were excellent. But that's how it was back then - British rhythm sections and Scottish goalkeepers were fair game for those who'd never played an instrument or kicked a football but could spell and touch type.

The Lamp is Low; Younger than Springtime; On a Clear Day; Young and Foolish/A Time For Love; Soft winds; Mack the Knife; Where Do I Go From Here? On the Trail.

1 comment :

Russell said...

Well, I think you've sold the album to the BSH readership!

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