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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 2025).

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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

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

Sunday, May 28, 2023

Ben Sidran Quartet @ Cafe Central, Madrid May 23

Ben Sidran (piano); Bill McHenry (saxo tenor); Billy Peterson (contrabaja); Leo Sidran (bateria)

I guess I am one of the few people who still actually buys a hard copy of the Lonely Planet guide when I am going on holiday, although I am sure it is available as an app (or something similar) for more tech savvy members of the human race. However, the title of the guides must be one of the most out of date concepts imaginable (due in part, of course, to its own success). No doubt the Sunday Times has already had articles listing the ten most lonely places to have a wild party and I am sure if I took a Ryanair flight to the dark side of the moon the first person I would bump into would be one of the Mooneys who lived in the next street to where I grew up in Dublin.

However, during a brief stay in Madrid on the way to places further south, the solid, tactile paperback came up with some useful information. In its listing of local bars and cafes it happened to mention that the Cafe Central also had regular jazz gigs and it turned out the location of this cafe in Plaza del Angel was only five minutes from our hotel. A quick look at its web site revealed that there were shows at 8pm and 10pm and as it was 9.15 everything was hunky dory. The fact that I hadnt heard of the quartet that was performing was no problem as the list of international jazz musicians I havent heard of is (sadly) extensive.

At the door I did make a gentle query about the entrance fee of 27 euros but the person taking the money responded instantly in perfect English saying hes American, very good and well worth the price. All statements that turned out to be totally correct.

The band was the Ben Sidran Quartet and firstly I must apologise to Mr Sidran by saying that despite the fact he had been playing and recording for 60 years I was not familiar with his work, even though I claim to be a jazz fan. However the loss has been entirely mine.

This was a great gig. Ben Sidran is an excellent piano player and entertainer. He writes many of his own songs and performs them beautifully.

The first piece was an instrumental version of Little Sherri by Charlie Rouse and immediately illustrated the relaxed compatibility between the piano and the rhythm section. Apparently Sidran has been playing with the bass player, Billy Peterson since the year dot and even though he is relatively speaking a youngster, the drummer had been playing (in all senses of the word) with the band leader for even longer. This is not unrelated to the fact that he is his son, Leo Sidran.

I dont know how long the saxophone player, Bill McHenry, has been with the group (or the familial relationships) but it was immediately clear that he is a great musician too.

Having settled down to enjoy an evening of instrumental jazz I was then pleasantly surprised and delighted to find that many of the following songs included vocals by Sidran. There were wry and gently ironic songs musing on age, Whos the Old Guy Now?, reflections on the original hipster period and lifestyle Dont Cry for No Hipster. One Day, Baby had some fine sax playing by McHenry.

Just as I was thinking to myself what does this music remind me of?, Sidran launched into a number I would never have expected to hear at a jazz gig - a jazz version of  Dylans Subterranean Homesick Blues. Then I got it. This was music built on Lenny Bruce raps, Jack Kerouac reading his poems over jazz piano, Dylan and as I was to read later, Mose Allison. In an article Sidran describes his admiration for Allison by saying he was not a singer who played the piano but a piano player who sang - a subtle difference but an important one.

Sidran had more surprises to finish the set with. He started a gentle rap about three shoemakers and I thought Okay, this is one of those old Jewish tales of wisdom and acceptance, but then he moved on to talk about Frederico Garcia Lorca and to sing in Spanish. I couldnt quite hear if this was one of Lorcas poems or a song about the poet but it was a very nice piece and he also mentioned that there was a statue to Lorca in the square near by. A very appropriate tribute to his Spanish hosts.

The encore was (I think) a beautiful version of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square with just the piano and saxophone.

Muy bueno, Senor Sidran y amigos. JC

(PS. I did, of course, consult the extensive BSH archive for references to Ben Sidran and was impressed to find a number of mentions. Some reviewers noted that the title of the Miles Davis tune Nardis was an anagram of Sidran but it wasnt clear whether this was because it was dedicated to him or a coincidence. It is hard to tell since Miles wrote the tune in 1958 and Sidran was born in 1943. But then maybe the 1954 Sonny Rollins tune Oleo was a positive prediction of Sidran Jr.). CJ

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