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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Sat 11: Spanish City Rollers @ Community Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival, Front Street, Tynemouth. 12 noon. Free.
Sat 11: Jazz Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival (o/s Tynemouth Priory), Tynemouth. Free. Vieux Carré Hot 4 (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Castillo Nuevo Trio (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Day 1/2.
Sat 11: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man + Adam Millington @ St John’s Chapel, Town Hall, Weardale DL13 1QF. 5:00pm (doors). £16.26., £10.84., £8.67., £5.42 (under 18).
Sat 11: Milne Glendinning Band @ Langley Tracks, Langley-on-Tyne. 5:30pm.
Sat 11: Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:30pm.
Sat 11: Karberry Big Band @ Forest Hall Social Club. 7:00pm. £7.00.
Sat 11: Ray Quinn: The King of Swing @ The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Album review: Marshall Gilkes and the WDR Big Band - LifeSongs

LifeSongs is Marshall Gilke's third collaboration as leader with the acclaimed WDR Big Band. The trombonist is no stranger to Germany having spent four years in Cologne working in the ranks of the band. Composer-arranger-conductor-soloist Gilkes reunites once more with his former bandmates to present an album spanning some seventy four minutes. Nine tracks*, seven composed and arranged by Gilkes, alongside All the Pretty Little Horses (traditional) and This Nearly Was Mine (Rodgers and Hammerstein II).

As the album came together Gilkes made the observation: I realized that a lot of the themes for these pieces relate directly to life and what's going on in the world these days. The listener could be forgiven in anticipating a doom-laden exercise. Surprisingly, LifeSongs opens in upbeat fashion with Fresh Start (perhaps referencing a post-lockdown sense of optimism). Gilkes' classy trombone playing sets the tone and for the best part of an hour and a quarter the album bristles with top class ensemble work and a plethora of stunning solo contributions from within the WDR's ranks.

The soloists...variously Johan Hörlén (alto sax, Back in the Groove and All the Pretty Little Horses), Billy Test (piano, Back in the Groove, My Unanswered Prayer and All the Pretty Little Horses), the 'bones of Ludwig Nuss, Raphael Klemm, Andy Hunter and one M. Gilkes on Middle Ground (four 'bones, the album is, after all, Gilkes' project!), Andy Haderer's mellifluous flugelhorn on This Nearly Was Mine, all, without exception, are stellar performers. Gilkes himself shines on Cora's Tune, the composer's brass arrangement could work well in British brass band circles. 

The ensemble's precision playing is no better demonstrated than on Sin Filtro, a Balkan-Spanish dot-reading delight/nightmare. Make that 'delight', the WDR Big Band is more than up to the mark! The listener familiar with the work of the WDR shouldn't hesitate acquiring a copy of Marshall Gilkes' LifeSongs. Russell.                                  
Track listing: Fresh Start; Back in the Groove; Cora's Tune; My Unanswered Prayer; All the Pretty Little Horses; Middle Ground; Sin Filtro; This Nearly Was Mine; Sugar Rush.

* the digital release includes two bonus tracks.

Marshall Gilkes (arranger, conductor, trombone); Johan Hörlén; Pascal Bartoszak; Ben Fitzpatrick; Paul Heller; Jens Neufang (reeds); Andy Haderer; Wim Both; Rob Bruynen; Ruud Breuls (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ludwig Nuss; Raphael Klemm; Peter Hedrich + Andy Hunter track 6 (trombone); Mattis Cederberg (bass trombone, tuba); Billy Test (piano); John Goldsby (bass); Hans Dekker (drums); Sabeth Pérez (vocals)

LifeSongs by Marshall Gilkes and the WDR Big Band is available from Alternate Side Records (ASR017).   
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