Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion.
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm.
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Monday, September 16, 2024

Album review: Nancy Reed, Spencer Reed - Happying

Nancy Reed (bass guitar, vocals); Spencer Reed (guitar, vocals); Bill Goodwin (drums on tks 1,2,4,6,7,8); Dave Liebman (soprano sax on tk 3); Jay Rattman (alto sax on tk 1 clarinet on tk 6); Peter Phillips (synth on tk 5); Ed Ludwig (tenor sax on tk 8); Craig Kastelnik (synth on tk 4 B3 on tk 8); Neil Braunston (drums on tk 5) 

This one slipped through the net - it's been languishing in my in-tray (that's a laugh! My in-skip would be more like it) since June. Somehow, some fast-talkin' PR person got the jump on Nancy and Spencer. However, all good things come to them that wait and with this album the waiting's over.

If you like/liked Man Tran, LHR, Jackie and Roy or any jazz-related harmony group whether in duo, trio or quartet format then this is for you.

The couple's romantic attachment is matched by their musical compatibility which shines through  on all eight tracks.

Cheerful Little Earful has the duo swinging like they were on 52nd Street back in the day. Goodwin, who's on seven of the eight tracks drives it along. Spencer solos and Rattman's alto doesn't hurt at all.

I doubt if there is a better jazz standard to capture a sultry mood than Benny Golson's Whisper Not, certainly not when sung by Nancy and Spencer. Spencer's guitar solo, enhanced by Nancy's bass, is an unbeatable combination.

I was unfamiliar with Chicago's Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? but Robert Lamm's lyric is effectively interpreted by Nancy and there's some fine soprano from Dave Liebman.

One of the all-time great big band albums is the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra's Blue Note album Consummation and one of the tracks on that album is Jones' A Child is Born. Here, with lyric by one of the songwriting greats, Alec Wilder, Nancy does both composer and lyricist proud, even though I'm usually averse to synthesisers. However, in the right hands ... it's in the right hands...

And yet another synth! This time it's Peter Phillips twiddling the knobs on Feel Like Makin' Love. Nancy handles it like a rock chick.

Morning Morgantown has the edge on Joni's version courtesy of Rattman's clarinet which adds a piquancy to the song.

Guitar and voice in unison make Moanin' that little bit different from the version by the Jazz Messengers. Nice one with or without the finger snaps!

Happying sums up the title track. It's a funky soul blast with B3, tenor sax and guitar in there. It's like the jam session to end all jam sessions. Party time! Lance

BANDCAMP.

at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive