Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey (to Terence Blanchard): ''You ain't Miles find your own shit to do!'' (DownBeat May, 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

18504 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 368 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 7 ) 22

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

May

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Hey Remember This @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 14: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Philip Larkin’s Jazz Experiment.
Thu 14: Jerron Paxton @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Superb country blues.
Thu 14: Solcade @ the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle. 7:00pm. EP launch. Rivkala & co..
Thu 14: Jacob Egglestone @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass); Jack Littlewood (drums) & guests.
Thu 14: 58 Jazz Collective @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: 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 15: Conor Emery Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Line-up Emery (trombone); Alix Shepherd (piano); John Pope (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01 adv., £15.00 on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Puppini Sisters @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!

Sat 16: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner. God Bless the Child - Lady Day!. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 16: Kaberry Big Band @ the Seahorse Pub, Hillheads Rd., Whitley Bay NE23 8HR. From 7:30pm. £15.00
Sat 16: Lady Nade @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. ‘Lady Nade sings Nina Simone’.

Sun 17: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Forum Theatre, Billingham. 7:30pm.
Sun 17: QOW Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Spike Wells, Riley Stone-Lonergan & Eddie Myer.

Mon 18: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 18: Mark Williams Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 19: GoGo Penguin + Daudi Matsiko @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £22.00 + £4.40 bf.
Tue 19: Danny Lowndes’ Hot Club @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £5.00 bf.
Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Mark Robertson (drums).

Monday, May 20, 2024

Sunday night @ the Globe: Andrea Vicari Trio - May 19

© Pam
Andrea Vicari (piano, voice); Andy Champion (bass); Russ Morgan (drums)

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying. A song from the film The Shawshank Redemption. A film I've never seen although, on the strength of the trio's take on it, I will certainly look out for it on one of those movie channels that I subscribe to and never watch. It had a sort of contemporary New Orleans' feel to it emphasised by Morgan's drumming. Great to see you back Russ. 

You Don't Know What Love is. Who does? Nevertheless, Vicari's playing with its rich chords, intriguing substitutions and a Latin tinged arrangement may well have found the answer.

© Pam
Have You Met Miss Jones? Who hasn't? It's a tune with endless possibilities. It swung and myself and the crowd loved it although Vicari's remark that 'that's got the swing out of the way' was as if to say 'now we've done the dishes we can have some fun'.

Two Vicari originals concluded the first set, both inspired by visits to Eastern Europe.

Counting Minutes, based (I think) on a visit to Montenegro, didn't quite connect with me. Maybe if I'd been to Montenegro it would have been different.

© Pam
However, I had no such reservations about Borovets. Based on a Bulgarian skiing holiday - how the jazz lifestyle has changed - this was the one. The one that ensured no one left. It had the whole nine yards. Piano, bass and drums slaloming down the piste after warning of an avalanche. Vicari adding some wordless vocal sounds along the way. Breathtaking!

After a short interval (hooray!) the second set began with Punching Out an appropriately named original that left me feeling that it was me and not Fury that had been in the ring with Usyk. I should have ducked or at least moved further away from the speakers.

Sanity returned with a beautiful version of Someone to Watch Over me.

© Pam
Even better (if that were possible) was the pianist's tribute to Chick Corea - Chickery. Piano producing runs and phrases Corea would have been proud of, Champion as amazing as he had been all night and Morgan reminding us just what we'd been missing.

The Bells of Newchurch, a pastoral piece full of delicate improvisations was followed by a Monk tune, Ba-lue Bolivar (I think) complete with an explosive drum finale. The actual finale was Aphrodite a blues that had some classic blues piano that suggested Andrea Vicari had been born in New Orleans rather Miami!

It brought a splendid evening to a close - like getting a hole in one at the 18th. Lance
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive