Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Sunday, January 01, 2023

Album review: Chicago Stompers - The Greatest Hits

Band leader, multi-instrumentalist, festival director and more, Mauro Porro has led the Chicago Stompers for two decades. To mark the milestone, the man from Milan chose to re-record much of the material on the Stompers' two previous recordings - C. S. Stomp and Too Late - and in so doing, assembled a first rate ensemble. A fifteen-strong core, plus five guests (four of them vocalists, variously soprano, alto, tenor and baritone), seventeen tracks, The Greatest Hits is the finished product, described by Porro as 'a present to our fans'.

From Ellington's East St Louis Toodle-Oo through to the closing 'bonus track', King Oliver's West End Blues, the Chicago Stompers lovingly recreate the jazz of a century ago, the 'jazz age'. The ensemble work is first rate, as are the many finely crafted solo contributions. Principal vocalist Marcella Malacrida is featured on eight tracks and, for good measure, plays glockenspiel on (Oh!) Lady be Good. Four alto saxophonists complement one another with Lorenzo Baldasso especially prominent. Pasquale Gravela's cornet features on all seventeen sides (Porro's cornet can be heard on half a dozen cuts), Giorgio Gallina's trombone playing catches the ear and Paolo A. Vanzulli makes himself heard on tuba. Guest vocalists Chiara Pederzani and Veronica Sbergia join Marcella Malacrida to produce superb vocal harmonies on Sunday. Excellent!

Mauro Porro's mastery of several instruments - piano, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, cornet, kazoo - is clearly evident throughout the album's near sixty minutes' playing time. Daniele Fazio recorded, mixed and mastered the album. The Chicago Stompers' twentieth anniversary (2002-2022) album The Greatest Hits (CD 005) is available from: www.chicagostompers.it. Russell                   
      
Marcella Malacrida (vocals - 3, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, glockenspiel 12); Martino Pellegrini (violin - 3-5, 8-12, 14, 16); Pasquale Gravela (cornet); Lorenzo Baldasso (alto sax - 1, 2,4-9, 11-17, clarinet 1, 2, 4-6, 8, 9, 12, 16,17); Davide Vincenzi (alto sax - 3, 10); Sophia Tomelleri (alto sax - 2, 3, 5-9, 11-17, clarinet - 2, 3, 6, 8-12, 14, 16, 17); Arturo Garra (tenor sax, clarinet - 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17); Giorgio Gallina (trombone); Mauro L. Porro (piano, clarinet - 17, soprano sax - 1, alto sax - 11, cornet - 1, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, kazoo - 16, arrangements & transcriptions); Michele Rusconi (banjo - 2, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15-17, guitar - 8, 10, 11); Yuri Biscaro (guitar - 5, 7, 12, 14); Paolo Dellino (banjo - 1, 4); Paolo A. Vanzulli (tuba - 1-7, 9, 10, 12-17); Marco Rottoli (string bass - 8, 11); Fabrizio Carriero (drums, percussion, effects, washboard - 9) + Chiara Pederzani (soprano vocals - 14, 16); Veronica Sbergia (alto vocals - 14, 16); Doug Bowles (tenor vocals - 10); Drew Nugent (baritone vocals - 7, 13); Andrès Villani (alto sax - 1, 4)     
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