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

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. 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: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

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.

Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Sanaz Lavasani @ The Black Swan - March 28

(© Mike Tilley)
Sanaz Lavasani (vocals); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (bass); Abbie Finn (drums)

A superb session - no other word can describe it!

From the kick ass opener, Cole Porter's Miss Otis Regrets to the closing Smile/Get Happy closer there was ne'er a dull moment. Lavasini can sing, she can swing, she can do ballads - you name it.

Her range, whilst not quite that of Maria Callas, isn't far short and, coupled with a bit of, say, Etta James she can sing anything from Mozart to Mose Allison although neither of those two cats were in her repertoire but they could have been.

(© Mike Tilley)
If this is starting to sound like a rave review it isn't because, totally unprompted, I felt vindicated when she said she wouldn't be singing Summertime because so many others had already done it - AMEN!

After Miss Otis, which set a very high bar, Someone to Watch Over me had a laid back verse before the shit hit the fan when she upped the tempo on the chorus.

It just got better and better - if that was possible. Even Secret Love, which ranks only a few places above Summertime in my bottom ten list was ok.

A couple of West Side Story songs - Cool and I Feel Pretty - brought us to The Man I Love. A great number sung beautifully. I love the line 'Maybe Tuesday will be my good news day'. Well this was Tuesday and what this lady was putting down certainly made it a good news day although the histrionic/Arabic/whatever coda may not have pleased the Gershwins!

The set closed with Too Darn Hot from my favourite musical Kiss me Kate. And, even without the distraction of Ann Miller's legs (in the film) which I always thought were much shapelier than Betty Grable's (ask your granddad!), it was a zinger.

(© Mike Tilley)
A short set, a short interval and time to have a short chat with friends - nice to catch up Jen - before the trio returned to play The Good Life. How good the local jazz life is having these three 'guys' on the scene. As well as having their own things going they could handle it anywhere (but don't tell anyone, otherwise they'll be snapped up by Blue Note).

Lavasani returned to sing A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square. I love this song and I recall being mesmerised some years ago after hearing Mel Tormé singing it with George Shearing at the RFH. This version ran it close.  

(© Mike Tilley)
A couple of Berlin/Astaire numbers - They Can't Take That Away From me and Cheek to Cheek could have had the room dancing (space permitting) before a bit of Disney - I Wanna be Like You. Ronnie Young and the Phoenix Jazzmen never did it this good even though they had Sting on bass! Put that on your CV Paul Grainger!


Hushabye Mountain left me a little bit cold but Sunny upped the temperature into double figures.
(© Mike Tilley)

The grand finale wasn't that grand. Smile isn't really a wonderful a number whereas Get Happy is. Combining the two worked and the crowded room stamped their feet and demanded more. Sanaz confessed they hadn't rehearsed any more tunes. Me, I'd have had no regrets if they'd reprised Miss Otis. Lance
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