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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17719 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 39 of them this year alone and, so far, 39 this month (Jan. 15).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Thu 16: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 17: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 17: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 17: Joe Steels Trio w. Graham Hardy @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. (inc. a welcome drink & table reservation). Book at: www.drinks@thepele.co.uk. A ‘Jazz at the Pele’ promotion.
Fri 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 17: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 18: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 18: Alter Ego + Jamie Toms/Graham Don Duo @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 18: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Repas 7 by Night, West St., Berwick TD15 1AS. 7:30pm. Free. Album launch gig.
Sat 18: Delta Prophets @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 19: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm. ‘Glenn Miller & the Rat Pack Era’.
Sun 19: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:15-7:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 19: Tenement Jazz Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 19: Nick Ross Orchestra @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Sun 19: Freight Train (Tobin/Noble/Clarvis) @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 21: ???

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

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, October 16, 2023

Album review: Harry Diplock Trio and Friends

Harry Diplock, Remi Oswald (guitar); Pete Thomas (bass) + Joe Webb (piano tk 1); Giacomo Smith (clarinet tks 2,4); Matt Holborn (violin tk 8); Kourosh Kanani (tk 9).

A refreshing take on the legacy of gypsy jazz by a London based guitarist who has well and truly captured the spirit of those Hot Club days without any suggestion of plagiarism. 

A new name to me, Diplock knows his way around the 'Macca' and manages to maybe bring it closer to the present without any disrespect to the past. He is aided and abetted by Thomas on bass, Oswald on rhythm guitar and an assortment of friends who make cameo appearances.

At first this dampened my enthusiasm as I'd assumed the musicians listed above would be le tout ensemble and my appetite was well and truly whetted. Nevertheless, their individual contributions are all beautiful and we had Diplock's Djangoesque playing holding it all together.

Rose Room was Joe Webb's only feature but he was on fire with guitars and bass providing support. 

Ebarme Dich from JSB's St. Matthew's Passion may seem an unusual choice until you remember how Jacques Loussier got the cigar from doing just that. Kansas Smittys' 'Smitty' plays clarinet, his solo upping the tempo before it returns to a more secular setting.

Giacomo also blows hot on Just One of Those Things opening his solo with a quote from You and the Night and the Music before getting down to business.

In between these two numbers the leader impresses on I'm Confessin' - Django lives! 

No guests on the next three. Cefalú moves out of Paris into bossa nova territory, a journey Django would probably have enjoyed. Interlude is a brief guitar piece. Both are Diplock originals. Je Ne Sais Pas Dire is a delightful waltz. 

Amazingly, there's only one violin feature but, as it's Matt Holborn, it's been worth waiting for. I Can't Get Started is a tune that, even without the lyrics, always stirs the emotions. It's one of those songs that grab you and Matt and Harry do just that.

The album moves through the decades to bring in Kourosh Kanani for Jimmy Rowles' The Peacocks. An interesting finale to an enjoyable, if not groundbreaking, album (I've always felt that sometimes groundbreaking is just another name for musical vandalism!) Lance

www.harrydiplock.co.uk

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