Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, April 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

17957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 278 of them this year alone and, so far, 34 this month (April 14).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Sun 20: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 20: Salty Dog @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 20: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 20: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 21: Newcastle Record Fair @ Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle. 10:00am. Going in search of the Buddy Bolden cylinder…
Mon 21: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

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

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Album review: Alison Crockett - My Father's Record Collection Vol. 1. Echoes of an Era Redux

Alison Crockett (vocals); Thad Wilson (trumpet); Paul Carr (tenor sax); Todd Williams (piano); Elliot Seppa (bass); Dana Hawkins (drums)

Recorded live at Washington's Blues Alley, Echoes of Era Redux features Crockett recreating songs from Chaka Khan's legendary 1982 album Echoes of Era. This was an album where Chaka dipped her toes into the jazz tub and didn't get scalded. As Alison, who was knocked out by the album says of Chaka, 'She didn't sound like a jazz singer but nor did she sound like a funk singer either. She sounded like herself. That's what I tried to do.' 

I think she does exactly that.

Her other inspiration was her father's record collection which was large and eclectic and Echoes of Era was one that she pulled out at random and the project was born.

Them There Eyes is a raunchy romp with great solos from Wilson and Carr. An interlude (Origin Story) follows in which Alison describes her early introduction to jazz.

I Hear Music has more fine trumpet from Wilson with Carr following up with some hard blowing tenor and some frenetic scatting from Alison. Bass gets a chorus or two too. 

Another interlude (Thousands of Times) brings up All of me and Take the A Train. More scatting and band solos. Straight down the middle swing with a nod towards r'n'b by the tenor man on the former. Piano and bass cool things down before seguing into the latter number. Trumpet solo wouldn't have been out of place in Duke's band. Tenor solo likewise. Piano likewise. Scat fours - maybe...

Next interlude (How I Grew up) took us to I Get a Kick Out of You. By this stage I was starting to slightly tire of the scatting - a little goes a long way. However the mellow solo by Carr - had he switched to flugel? - made up for it. 

The next interlude (I Learned This From Chaka Khan) brought in Spring Can Really Hang You up the Most. Beautifully sung with just piano accompaniment.

The penultimate interlude (Chick Corea's Presence) was another blast by Alison on Highwire - the Aerialist with the trumpet player making like his namesake (Thad).

The final interlude (Here's the Band) was a brief intro to the band. Lance

Available Oct. 20. LISTEN.

at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive