Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18395 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 259 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 30 ), 69

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

March

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). Free. Chicago blues.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Album review: Michael Sutton - Those Leftover Dreams.

Michael Sutton  (vocals); Rob Barron (piano); Jeremy Brown (bass); Mark Taylor (drums) + Quentin Collins (trumpet - solos on tks  1, 6, & 9); Claire Martin OBE (producer/vocal on tk 5)

This could be the vocal album of the year and, even if it's not it will certainly be 'in the frame'. How could it not be produced as it is by Claire Martin OBE? Claire also adds her dulcet tones to Van Morrison's The Way Young Lovers Do

You don't have to scat to be defined as a jazz singer. It's all in the phrasing, the fraction behind the beat, the occasional reworking of the lyric, the creation of a mood ... Sinatra had it off to perfection in the 1950s - not quite so much later.  As it happens Sutton is of a similar age to when Frank was at his peak and with this, his debut album, the future looks bright.

The song selection is choice with Steve Allen's This Could be the Start of Something Big maybe more than just a song title for Michael Sutton ...

Barron's piano solos, Brown's bass and Taylor's drums provide the perfect backing with the inestimable addition of Quentin Collins' trumpet on three tracks. His solo on Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay outstanding.

Those Leftover Dreams will be available on all digital platforms from April 17, and launched on the same day at Piano Smithfield - DETAILS. Lance

Señor Blues; This Could be the Start of Something Big; The Meaning of the Blues; Since I Fell For You; The Way Young Lovers Do; Here's That Rainy Day; Never Let me go; No Moon at All; Red Clay; Love is a Many Splendored Thing.

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