Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18767 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 631 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 31) 95.

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

August

Mon 03: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 03: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 04: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 06: Wild Women of Wylam @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 06: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Feat. guest Zoë Gilby.
Thu 06: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 06: Bridget Metcalfe Sextet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.

Sat 08: ???

Sun 09: 58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00-3:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Ropner Park, Stockton. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: The Gambling Janes @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Thursday, January 04, 2024

Album review: Lawrence Fields - To the Surface

Lawrence Fields (piano); Yasushi Nakamura (bass); Corey Fonville  (drums)

Fields, a native of St Louis, now based in NYC, impresses on this his debut album. His palmarès include stints with, among others, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Dave Douglas and Terri Lyne Carrington. He's also been a contender in the Rising Star category in DownBeat's Annual Critics Poll for the past five years

He brings the piano trio format into the present without ignoring the past displaying the dexterity of Peterson and the introspection of Evans as well as his own individual approach. He also composed nine of the ten tunes and there isn't a lemon among them. 

Bass and drums spur him on to the heights then lay back when the mood becomes reflective. Indeed they go to the bar/coffee machine on L.B.F. enabling Fields to stretch languorously out. There's no indication of the significance of the title in the notes. Perhaps the B is his middle name - who knows?

I Fall in Love Too Easily is a great tune. Sinatra and Chet have done it justice vocally and now Fields (and bassist Nakamura) add their names to the instrumental Roll of Honour on this much-loved Styne and Cahn tune.

It's a great album and, although the piano trio field is a crowded one both past and present, this one is, nevertheless, a must to check out. Lance

Parachute; New Season Blues; Moving on; L.B.F.; To the Surface; Yasorey; Vision; I Fall in Love Too Easily; Sketches; The Lookout

No comments :

Blog Archive