Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18383 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 247 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 17 ), 57

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

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Thursday, August 17, 2023

Album review: JazzMain - Blue Note Nights

Nick Gould (tenor sax); Steve Grossart (keys); Iain Harkness (bass guitar); Kevin Dorrian (drums)

As regular visitors to this site will know I'm an out and out dedicated follower of the music put out by Blue Note Records in the 1950s and '60s. If their albums hadn't been so expensive when they were first released in the UK I'd probably have the whole, pre-Liberty catalogue on my shelves. Nevertheless, I've got a fair number so that when anything comes along paying tribute to the artists who recorded for that iconic label I tend to regard it with a degree of suspicion.

I'm pleased to say that Gould's JazzMain come through with flying colours. His sound, somewhere between that of Mobley and Dexter, finds just the right balance between that of those two giants.

I've no need to further extol the tenorist's virtues, his occasional jam session drop ins have long since made him as big a favourite in Newcastle as he is in Edinburgh and indeed wherever he plays.

My apologies to the other three members of JazzMain for not mentioning them earlier but, let's face it, without them he'd be like a sax player without a reed! All have shown their worth on gigs in Newcastle and they'll be doing it again on Saturday at the Tyne Bank Brewery. If the Blue Note founders, Lyon and Wolfe, were still alive they'd be jetting over to catch Saturday's set.

A minor quibble, it would have been good to mention the original source of the material in the album notes. Lance

Liberated Brother; My Groove, Your Move; Marnacita; Full House; You Stepped Out of a Dream; This I Dig of You; Short Story; CTA; Soy Califa

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