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

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).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. 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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