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

18469 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 333 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 27 ) 67

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

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!

May

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: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
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.

Sat 02: Midnite Follies Orchestra @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £20.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. All-star line-up.
Sat 02: Knats Masterclass & Jam II @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00-3:00pm. £15.00.
Sat 02: Shannon Pearl + John Pope & John Garner @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Witch-pop’ + Pope & Garner.
Sat 02: Knats + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 03: Chilcott Jazz Mass @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 9:30am. Free. Sung communion with Parish Choir (featuring Bob Chilcott’s music). A Jesmond Community Festival event.
Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 03: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Mark Toomey (alto sax).
Sun 03: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: Tom Waits for No Man @ Oxygenic, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm (2:30pm doors). Neckties and Boxing Gloves album launch. £14.00 (gig & a CD); £8.00 (gig only).
Sun 03: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 03: John Pope & John Garner @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.

Mon 04: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Pete Tanton’s Cuban Heels @ The Library, South Parade, Whitley Bay. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tuesday, April 04, 2023

Album Review: Bill Evans - Treasures

Bill Evans (piano) with (collective): Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Eddie Gomez (bass); Alan Dawson, Alex Riel, Marty Morell (drums) + Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra & Danish Radio Big Band

Treasures Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969) is a two-CD package of  previously unreleased recordings. Bill Evans is heard playing solo, in trio format and, on six of thirty tracks, with the combined forces of the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra and Danish Radio Big Band. Culled from the private collection of Danish jazz musician Ole Matthiessen, the material was recorded at various locations, including the Copenhagen Jazz Festival and radio engagements.

CD 1 comprises eight trio tracks (bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen is present throughout working alongside drummers Alan Dawson at the 1965 Copenhagen Jazz Festival and Alex Riel the following month at a school in Holbæk) and six tracks featuring Evans, bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Marty Morell with orchestra and big band (conducted by trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg). Half of the tracks are timeless numbers, ranging from the opening Come Rain or Come Shine to I Should Care to Who Can I Turn To? Evans' compositions, themselves standards, include Very Early and Waltz for Debby. Evans' trios on these dates ooze class (Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and either Alan Dawson or Alex Riel). In a 52-page booklet, John Koenig's essay on Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen describes NHØP as 'certainly the greatest jazz bass player ever to emerge from Denmark and one of the top jazz players in the world'. Listening to the disc, who could disagree? 

The 'orchestral suite' features Evans' Waltz for Debby, Time Remembered, My Bells, Waltz for Debby (reprised) and Walkin' Up alongside the title track, Palle Mikkelborg's Treasures. Trumpeter  and arranger Mikkelborg conducted the large ensembles (Idrees Sulieman, trumpet, and Sahib Shihab, reeds, occupied chairs in the band), Evans at the centre of it all with the bass and drums pairing of Gomez and Morell.           

CD 2 features Evans as solo pianist and trio leader. The unaccompanied Evans is heard on a late November, 1965 date playing his own compositions Re: Person I Knew, Time Remembered and Epilogue, and several standards including 'Round Midnight, My Funny Valentine, Come Rain or Come Shine. The trio sides are sparkling musical conversations: Detour Ahead swings (the propulsive bass playing of Eddie Gomez), at times Autumn Leaves could be mistaken for Oscar P (an acknowledged influence), this period in Evans' career could, perhaps, be regarded as the pianist at his best.           

Bill Evans - Treasures is available in CD format from Elemental Music (5990444) and as a limited edition 180-gram vinyl 3-LP set as an exclusive Record Store Day (April 22) release. Russell       
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