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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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

17655 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 929 of them this year alone and, so far, 74 this month (Dec. 31).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Thu 02: ???

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: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 03: John Gregory @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar.

Sat 04: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Square, Middlesbrough. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £5.00. Xmas party (rescheduled from early December).

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 05: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Salty Dog @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Americana, jazz & blues.
Sun 05: Papa G’s Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Mon 06: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:00pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

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 29, 2024

Album review: Music Soup Organ Trio - Upbeat Mood (Chicken Coup/Summit Records)

Nestor Dimopoulos (guitar); Evgenia Karlafti (B3); Vagelis Kotzabasis (drums) + Kym Purling (piano on tks 3, 6); Henry Gergen (trumpet on tk 8)

Organ trios aren't quite as ubiquitous as they once were back in the 1950s when the B3 hit the scene. Soon the combination of Hammond and Leslie speaker were everywhere from social clubs to jazz joints. The pedalboard made bass players obsolete even though some of the finest, usually recycled pianists, often struggled to coordinate their feet with their hands.

No such problem with this Athenian trio who are well-versed in the tradition laying down a funky groove that nods as much to Philly or Detroit as it does the Greek Capital.

Seven originals co-composed by Dimopoulos and Karlafti as well as a lesser known Burt Bacharach tune, My Little Red Book, make for a selection of danceable tracks. Around the World isn't the Victor Young tune that Buddy Greco and Matt Monro charted with but a catchy original that, to my ears is far superior. In fact all of the numbers are so catchy that I got the feeling that I knew them almost as soon as I heard them!

Surprisingly the two tracks augmented by Purling on piano, the aforementioned Around the World and Fun Island work well with no chordal clashes. Appointment in Athens has some fine trumpet playing by Henry Gergen who is also a member of the United States Air Force Band of the Pacific-Asia based in Japan. Presumably he got a furlough for the recording.

A special mention for drummer Kotzabasis. His drumming is sensitive and not in your face, quite the contrary in fact, which makes this album all the more appealing - to me! Lance

Korean Apartment; A Day in the Park; Around the World; My Little Red Book; Freeland (To OP With Love); Fun Island; Upbeat Mood; Appointment in Athens

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