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Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 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

17838 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 159of them this year alone and, so far, 6 this month (March 3).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sun 09: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 09: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Wokitoki @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Tom Atkinson (drums, guitar); Sue Ferris (sax, flute); Jude Murphy (bass guitar, flute). Jazz standards, bebop, free jazz, Latin & more. Upstairs.
Sun 09: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Downstairs.
Sun 09: Zhenya Strigalev’s 2025 Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 10: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club.

Tues 11: Solea @ Earthlings, the Healing Café, 94 Buckingham St., Newcastle, NE4 5QR. 7:00-8:45pm. Food available if ordered before 6:30pm. New band: Johannes Dalhuijsen (tenor sax, bass clarinet); Richard Herdman (guitar); Nick Bagnall (bass guitar); John Hirst (drums).
Tue 11: Giles Strong Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: The Exu + Matt Cliffe @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 13: Oh La La! @ Allendale Village Hall, Northumberland. 7:30pm. £12.00.; £6.00. child. Fifi La Mer (accordion, vocals), Oliver Wilby (reeds).
Thu 13: Fiona Finden’s Jazz Express @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 14: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Taylor @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00-2:00pm. £5.00. at the door. Second Friday in the month lunchtime concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Brass Funkeys + Dilutey Juice @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Oh La La! @ Edmundbyers Village Hall, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. £12.00.; £10.00. (additional £5.00. supper option, ordered in advance). Fifi La Mer (accordion, vocals), Oliver Wilby (reeds).
Fri 14: The Collective @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.50.
Fri 14: Bridget Metcalfe Quintet @ St George’s Venue, Park Road, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.

Sat 15: Hot Teapots @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 15: Creakin’ Bones @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Is This Jazz? @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk. Performances by Mu Quintet, Jinjé, A Brief Utopia, John Pope & Co + André Marmot (author of Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion) in conversation + DJ sets ‘til 3:00am. ‘A Festival of New Jazz’.
Sat 15: Vintage Explosion @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 15: One Night Standards @ The White Room, Stanley. 8:00pm. £8.67 (inc. bf). Note - previously advertised Salty Dogs cancelled.
Sat 15: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blues guitar.

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

Thursday, August 15, 2024

Album review: Individuation - The Phenomenal (Mother Brain Records)

Michael Eaton (tenor/soprano sax, composer/arranger); Brad Whiteley (piano, synth); Daniel Ori (bass); Shareef Taher (drums) + Tim Hagens, David Scott (trumpet); Judi Silvano (voice)

To title an album, or indeed anything or anyone The Phenomenal is setting them up for a fall. Quite often 'phenomenal' turns out to mean just 'very good' or even less. However, in the case of Individuation's The Phenomenal it is probably an appropriate title for the album - to call it anything else would be to sell it short.

Eaton blows tenor as if he'd invented the instrument and added a couple of octaves along the way. Playing the whole gamut of the instrument, he's very much a musician living in the moment maybe even a couple of jumps ahead whilst occasionally looking over his shoulder to remind himself of where he came from.

The two trumpets also do some paint-stripping. Their chase on Multiple Worlds is as exciting as any trumpet battle I've heard since the heady days of JATP. Difficult to separate them by name: one has a fuller sound than the other but the booklet notes don't offer any clues.

The rhythm section handles the complex rhythms and tempo changes with seeming ease. I'm not a big fan of synthesisers, they do nothing for me. However, there's an exception to most rules and when Brad Whiteley is at the controls he produces some esoteric sounds although I do feel more comfortable when the Bronx native is at the grand piano.

An extra bonus is the presence of Judi Silvano  who adds her distinctive voice to a couple of tracks - Altarpiece No 1 and KC Counterpoint. The former has a dramatic, modern, semi-religious feel to it with some spiky soprano sax from Whitely whilst the latter, after the trumpets have had their say, is a funkier wordless vocal over a heavy groove. Her intonation over a mega-wide range is spot on as is her articulation of the sounds she produces.

All in all this has been quite a listening experience. So much to absorb I need to lie down in a darkened room to bring myself back to 2024.

Phenomenal? I think that maybe it is! Lance

Folk Song; Multiple Worlds; Imagination and Understanding; Parallex; Altarpiece No 1; KC Counterpoint; Blues and the Phenomenal Truth

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