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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Jazz Milestones - 1975.
Thu 20: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 20: Orange Claw Hammer + Peony @ The Globe, Newcastle.7:30pm. Orange Claw Hammer play Captain Beefheart.
Thu 20: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Featuring special guest Zoë Gilby.

Fri 21: JazzMain @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. TBC.
Fri 21: Emma Rawicz w. Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30pm-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 22: Mississippi MacDonald @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Blues.
Sat 22: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm. £16.50. SOLD OUT!
Sat 22: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mark Williams Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 23: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Mu Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: ?

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Saturday, November 18, 2023

Album review: The Hamar Concert

Espen Berg (piano).

If not hot then certainly warm on the heels of his first solo piano outing, The Trondheim Concert, which came out in October last year, Berg now releases another album of solo improvisations. Trondheim made it into my personal top two of 2022 and I suspect that The Hamar Concert will finish up near the top of my list this year. Whilst Trondheim had taken 3 years to make it from recording to release, this set took about 370 days as it was recorded around the time that Trondheim was released, though I see from his website that there has been a Nidaros Concert release in between.

On Hamar, as on Trondheim, Berg displays a wonderful, romantic lyricism. The (not so) imaginatively titled first piece Part 1a opens with a sparse waltz as if Berg is trying out the piano. Whilst this piece builds across its six minutes, even when the left hand adds weight there is still a tragic, elegiac melody riding above. It’s a Romeo and Juliet soundtrack, and we know how that ends. By contrast 1b is all weight for its opening section, thumping bass chords dominate proceedings before they fall away and are followed by elegant, wandering musings. The closing section is a mad, whirling chase; a perfect ballet score.

Part 2 is the soundtrack to a dripping spring thaw. More of that lovely, delicate elegance, though, as it develops, something more tragic begins to undermine the mood. The weight of the left hand begins to overwhelm the right before a balance is struck and they play intricately around each other; the right hand melody eventually wins out. It is really lovely stuff. Part 3 is a dramatic highlight. Almost Wagnerian it is full of sound and fury; an engrossing dense deluge of notes that breaks into a dancing film noir soundtrack. (I don’t know if Berg has written any soundtracks. Perhaps, he should.)

Part 4 is the pastoral piece, a perfect accompaniment for wide open Northumberland skies. Tumbling notes, an optimistic melody has a sparse rhythm line beneath which rises up to join the front line. I’ve already used the word ‘Lyrical’ and I wonder if these melodies would suffer or benefit from words to enhance the mood. (I see from his website that he has worked with singer Silje Nergaard - a favourite of mine from when I used to play cassettes in the car - in the past so perhaps she could have a go!).

Part 5 simply confirms what many will suspect from listening to this album, namely that Berg has three hands. It is elegant, dense, stunningly intricate but it is not mechanical or purely craftsmanship. This is rich, emotional music.

Part 6 is a joyful r 'n' b stomper of the old school to which Berg adds his own flourishes. It’s exciting, entertaining and uplifting all at once. Part 7 is more ballet music. There is so much movement and flow in some of these pieces that it is impossible not to think in terms of moving bodies.

He leaves us with another piece that embodies the elegance and delicacy that has featured across the previous hour. It’s a melody of frills over a simple rhythm, and, as with much else on the album is a thing of beauty.

I’m getting to really like Espen Berg and I have a nasty feeling that, as he is so prolific with his trio and various other groupings, it could turn out to be a very expensive addiction, probably requiring another visit to the home storage department at IKEA.

More information about Berg and his various groups and projects (and some good photos) can be found on his WEBSITE. He doesn’t have any solo dates in the UK planned but he is in London for a few days in February next year with Silje Nergaard at Pizza Express so a ticket for that might have to go on my Christmas list. Dave Sayer

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