Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Thu 30: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: International Jazz Day & JANE AGM.
Thu 30: Duke Junction @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Nadim Teimoori (tenor sax); Jeff Hewer (guitar); Martin Longhawn (organ); Steve Hanley (drums). An International Jazz Day event & the 12th anniversary of Newcastle Jazz Co-op acquiring the Globe!

Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Bede Wind Band + East Coast Swing Band @ Cullercoats Methodist Church. 7:30pm. £10.00. Tickets from: www.ticketsource.com, members of Bede Wind Band & at the door. Memorial concert for Anne-Marie Purvis, who was a member of both ensembles. All proceeds to Tiny Lives Trust.
Fri 01: Louis Louis Louis @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00.

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Album review: Chet Baker - Blue Room

Chet Baker (trumpet, vocals); Phil Markowitz (piano); Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (bass); Charles Rice (drums). 
Chet Baker (trumpet, vocals); Frans Elsen (piano); Victor Kaihatu (bass); Eric Ineke (drums).

The Jazz Detective continues his investigations searching for previously undiscovered, unreleased gems and, as ever, comes up trumps with this one. Two sessions from April, 1979, by the legendary Chet Baker that have lain gathering dust in the Vara studio's vaults in Hilversum, having originally been broadcast on the Dutch KRO radio programme Nine o'Clock Jazz.

Baker is in fine form both vocally and instrumentally. Whatever demons he was facing don't show at these sessions. His laid back trumpet style and his laconic vocals are a personification of the less is more school. It's cool but it's not frigid. There's a warmth that seeps through. To express your feelings you don't need to write a sonnet, three little words - I love you - does the trick. Chet does that with each and every note he blows.

There's only one vocal on the first CD - Oh, You Crazy Moon - but it's beautiful, so full of emotion. The Best Thing For You is me is more uptempo than Chet usually prefers but if it's out of his comfort zone it doesn't show. And why should it? He chose the tunes and you don't invent a game to get beat at it. He handles the tempo with ease and without any pyrotechnics. Bravura flourishes were never a part of his armoury. 

Three tracks into the second CD we have another vocal - Candy - a tune he'd recorded in an earlier time, in a different place with a different band. This scatted version is okay but I don't think scatting is really his forté although the trumpet solo is excellent. However, if I had to pick out just one vocal it would surely be the conveniently titled My Ideal. A tune that he'd already made his own, the marriage between singer and song is well and truly consummated here.

The two rhythm sections are totally compatible with Baker. Markowitz in particular stretching out impressively.

It's been a good few days for listening. Lance

A 2 LP set will be available on Record Store Day (April 22) as well as well as a limited edition deluxe 2 CD set six days later.
Beautiful Black Eyes; Oh, You Crazy Moon; The Best Thing For You is me; Blue Room; Down.
Blue Gilles; Nardis; Candy; Luscious Lou; My Ideal; Old Devil Moon.
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