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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

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!

Thursday, October 05, 2023

Album review: Alex Riel - In New York

CD 1: Michael Brecker (tenor sax tks 1,3); Jerry Bergonzi (tenor sax tks 1,3,4,7,8,9); Mike Stern (guitar tks 2,5,6,7); Niels Lan Doky (piano tks 3.4.5.8); Eddie Gomez (bass); Alex Riel (drums).

CD 2: Michael Brecker (tenor sax tks 1,2); Jerry Bergonzi (tenor sax tks 1,2,3,4,7,8,9); Mike Stern (guitar tks 2,7,8); Kenny Werner (piano tks 1,2,3,4,7,8); Chris Minh Doky (bass); Alex Riel (drums).

A welcoming double CD reissue of two albums led by legendary Danish drummer Riel who is regarded by many as Denmark's most successful jazz musician next to NHØP.

Recorded in New York in 1997 and 1999, both discs have Brecker and Bergonzi at their explosive best - particularly when the two are in tandem. However, it isn't all blood and thunder as their take on Ben Webster's Did You Call Her Today? proves. They play more notes than Ben would have chosen to albeit without Webster's sumptuous sound.

Nevertheless, both players are at the top of their game and the tracks where they share centre stage the comparisions are interesting. Brecker perhaps the more freer, Bergonzi only slightly less outré, both of them extending the range of the instrument beyond Adolphe Sax's wildest dreams - maybe even Illinois Jacquet's! 

Bergonzi is more controlled on his own Committed, a truly exquisite ballad performance, just one of the seven originals he contributed.

Mike Stern offers contrast with some fine guitar solos plus an original and Werner and Doky do likewise with the latter combining with Riel for the final track.

There's an apocryphal saying that Brecker, when asked what it felt like too be the finest jazz saxophonist in the world, replied: "I don't know, ask Jerry Bergonzi".

Riel solos effectively and unaccompanied on In my Own "Sweets" Way.

Werner seduces the listener with a trio version of I Fall in Love Too Easily. Some nice bass too from Doky.

Overall, an exciting double album that goes to the edge but doesn't fall off. There's lots of sensitivity too. It's out on Stunt Records on October 20. Worth checking out. Lance 

CD 1: Gecko Plex; He's Dead Too; On Again Off Again; Amethyst; Bruze; Moment's Notice; Channeling; Invisible Light; Unriel.

CD 2: Did You Call Her Today?; Bessie's Blues; Committed; Dexterity;  In my Own "Sweets" Way; I Fall in Love Too Easily; The Bat; High Tops; Lille Empum

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