Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

17,533 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 497 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (June 23).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Bal Bruch Social Dance @ As You Like It, Sandyford, Newcastle. 12:30pm. Free. Dance event with Hot Club de Heaton performing live (2:00-3:00pm). A ‘Jar on the Bar’ event.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

JULY 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. 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

Monday, May 29, 2023

Sunday night @ the Globe: Matt Anderson Quartet - May 28

(© Ken Drew)
Matt Anderson (tenor sax); Jamil Sheriff (piano); Andy Champion (bass); Dave Walsh (drums).

The Globe was crowded even though it was one of those bank holidays that seem to turn up every other week. Perhaps folk are getting wise to the fact that there are better things to do than hanging around airports or being stuck in gridlocked traffic on these occasions.

Like listening to some live jazz by an ace quartet.

I've followed Matt Anderson's career with interest ever since I first heard him at the Scarborough Jazz Festival back in 2011 as well as via various albums and concerts in and around the north east that have seen him develop into a major player along the way.

Although the gig was part of a tour promoting his latest recording The Town and The City he didn't push it down our throats every five minutes as so many others do and he only actually played a couple of numbers from it. Sometimes the soft sell works better than the foot in the door approach.

After Wayne Shorter's Mister Weird they followed up with Joe Henderson's Punjab. I was unfamiliar with the tune and yet the opening two bars sounded very familiar (see graphic) then the penny dropped. That opening motif was a phrase that local trombonist the late Ronnie McLean invariably inserted into his solos. Irrespective of whether the tune was 12 bars or 32 bars those six notes in that order usually showed up somewhere along the line! As Ronnie had probably never heard of Joe Henderson (and vice versa) was this a case of great minds thinking alike?

Whatever, it was a fine Blue Note style romp. Sireen, was composed by Matt for his Armenian girl friend. A sombre introspective piece it wasn't exactly Nancy (with the laughing face) although it would be interesting to have some (English) words added to the compelling theme.

The Idiot, inspired by Dostoevsky's novel of the same name had an outstanding piano solo by Sheriff proving that he was no idiot before the set closed with Bud Powell's Celia. Out and out bebop with all four, like the audience, on a high.

Over the years I've invariably been knocked out by Andy Champion but his solo on Shorter's Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum was, even by his high standards, exceptional. He played more notes on double bass than, say, Tubby Hayes and Johnny Griffin combined did on tenor!

Prior to that we heard Monk's Bye-ya with Sheriff also on the money (lots of notes). Dave Walsh a powerhouse on drums driving hard on sticks, seducing softly on brushes, in short, a tower of strength.

Matt led from the front, setting the benchmark for everything that followed avoiding the trap of ending every number with a round of fours - less is more when it comes to fours!

A super session, a not to be missed one should they turn up in your neck of the woods. Lance  

Mister Weird; Punjab; Sireen; The Idiot; Celia; Bye-ya; Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum; New Old Blues; Dance Cadaverous; Green Shoots

1 comment :

Patti said...

What an ace gig this was! A packed house of very enthusiastic jazz fans loved every moment - the band were loving it too. Incidentally, Matt explained that 'Sireen' was a tribute to his Armenian fiancé, with the title an Armenian word for 'beautiful' - awww! 'Green Shoots' he told us was composed to celebrate the birth of his son, Robert - awwww, again!

Blog Archive