Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18469 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 333 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 27 ) 67

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

April

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Thu 30: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: International Jazz Day & JANE AGM.
Thu 30: Duke Junction @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Nadim Teimoori (tenor sax); Jeff Hewer (guitar); Martin Longhawn (organ); Steve Hanley (drums). An International Jazz Day event & the 12th anniversary of Newcastle Jazz Co-op acquiring the Globe!

May

Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 01: Bede Wind Band + East Coast Swing Band @ Cullercoats Methodist Church. 7:30pm. £10.00. Tickets from: www.ticketsource.com, members of Bede Wind Band & at the door. Memorial concert for Anne-Marie Purvis, who was a member of both ensembles. All proceeds to Tiny Lives Trust.
Fri 01: Louis Louis Louis @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00.

Sat 02: Midnite Follies Orchestra @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £20.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. All-star line-up.
Sat 02: Knats Masterclass & Jam II @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00-3:00pm. £15.00.
Sat 02: Shannon Pearl + John Pope & John Garner @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Witch-pop’ + Pope & Garner.
Sat 02: Knats + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 03: Chilcott Jazz Mass @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 9:30am. Free. Sung communion with Parish Choir (featuring Bob Chilcott’s music). A Jesmond Community Festival event.
Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 03: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Mark Toomey (alto sax).
Sun 03: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: Tom Waits for No Man @ Oxygenic, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm (2:30pm doors). Neckties and Boxing Gloves album launch. £14.00 (gig & a CD); £8.00 (gig only).
Sun 03: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 03: John Pope & John Garner @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.

Mon 04: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Pete Tanton’s Cuban Heels @ The Library, South Parade, Whitley Bay. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 05: Leah Kirk (voice): Final Year Music Recital @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 2:30pm. Free, open to the public.
Tue 05: Jenny Baker (voice): Final Year Music Recital @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 4:20pm. Free, open to the public.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Sunday, September 03, 2023

Album review: Dean Stockdale Quartet - Celebrating Oscar

Dean Stockdale (piano); Tim Williams (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums)

In his teens, Dean Stockdale's piano teacher pointed him in the direction of Oscar Peterson. To quote Stockdale: ...it changed my life. Fast forward a few short years, Celebrating Oscar is Stockdale's homage to the late, great Canadian pianist. 

Assisting Stockdale in what is surely a labour of love are three of the finest musicians working on the British jazz scene - guitarist Tim Williams, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. Having heard the quartet in concert and listening to the album on repeat, one senses the four musicians are friends rather than 'bandleader plus sidemen'. Twelve tracks - nine Peterson compositions and three standards - are familiar, of course they are, this is Dean Stockdale playing Oscar Peterson! 

Blues Etude opens the recording and for the next sixty four minutes or so Celebrating Oscar is an absolute joy to listen to. Based this side of the Pennines, Stockdale can frequently be heard on the north east jazz scene, we know just how good he is. The others - Messrs. Williams, Barras and Hughes - residing Way Out West on the other side of the Pennines are top class players. We've been fortunate to have heard them here on Tyneside, not least in the company of Stockdale. A year or so ago, Tim Williams was the unknown quantity. Not anymore, guitarist Williams is as good as they come. Hear him soloing on Hogtown Blues or Noreen's Nocturne, he could be your new favourite guitarist. Bassist Gavin Barras is a tower of strength, hear him walking on Hogtown Blues, then there's Gaz Hughes, a fine, fine drummer. And then there's Night Train, superb, swinging jazz. 

Listening to the album the famous names spring to mind - Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Ed Thigpen, Martin Drew - that's how good the album is, but make no mistake, Celebrating Oscar is the work of the excellent Dean Stockdale Quartet.  

If you've long-since liked Oscar Peterson, if you were lucky enough to hear great the man in concert, you'll love Celebrating Oscar. Go hear the Dean Stockdale Quartet in concert (see the tour itinerary below), you won't be able to resist buying a CD. Buy two, one for yourself, the other one will make the ideal Christmas gift. www.deanstockdalemusic.com.
    
Blues Etude; Falling in Love with Love; Bossa Beguine; Nigerian Marketplace; Have You Met Miss Jones?; Hogtown Blues; Land of the Misty Giants; Wheatland; When Summer Comes; Noreen's Nocturne: Night Train; Hymn to Freedom.

Dean Stockdale is touring Celebrating Oscar. Forthcoming dates include: Kenilworth Jazz Club, Warwickshire (Sept. 4); Scott's Jazz Club, Belfast (Sept. 8); Arthur's Jazz Club, Dublin (Sept. 9); St Ives Jazz (Sept. 19); Hampstead Jazz Club, London (Sept. 20); Toulouse Lautrec, London (Sept. 24); Fougou Jazz, Livermead Cliff Hotel, Torquay (Sept. 26); Davenham Jazz, Cheshire (Sept. 28); Saltburn Jazz Club (Oct. 6); Le Barbizon, Paris (Oct. 26, Nicola Sabato, bass); Seven Arts, Leeds (Nov. 12, afternoon); JATP, Bradford Latvian Club (Dec. 1). Russell   
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive