Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ 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: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

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: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

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.

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