Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 821 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 30.) 100.

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

October.

Sun 04: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Heugh Battery, Hartlepool. 11:00am-12 noon & 1:00-2:00pm.
Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 04: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Bill Watson (trumpet).
Sun 04: Sax Choir w. Rachel Musson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Rivkala + Ceitidh Mac + Thatcher & Knowles @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. A NFOJAIM event.
Sun 04: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. RESCHEDULED from September 27.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £3.00.

Mon 05: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 06: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Paul Grainger (double bass).
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Murray Oak, Paul Grainger, John Bradford.
Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 06: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. First night of two.

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 07: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. Second night of two.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 08: Indigo Jazz Voices w. Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Friday, October 04, 2024

Joel Frahm Trio/Saul Duff's Dufftet @ Seven Arts, Leeds - Oct. 3

© Patti
Joel Frahm (tenor sax); Dan Loomis (double bass); Ernesto Cervini (drums)

To pack an overnight bag and jump onto a Transpennine Express down to Leeds suggests that something special was afoot ... and it was!

Last month I reviewed Lumination by the Joel Frahm Trio (HERE) and my immediate reaction was an urge to see/hear this trio live. When the word got out that they were doing a European tour with four dates in the UK and that one of them was 'down the road' at Seven Arts in Leeds the die was cast.

If I'd had any pre-gig reservations they were soon disposed of. From the opening bars of  The Nurse is in this was everything I hoped for and more. Frahm's fingers producing amazingly fast phrases and runs that came from subterranean depths up to  altissimo heights and higher. At times, by some saxophonic jiggery-pokery, he managed to blow two notes at once - or so it seemed!

Nor is the saxman from Racine, Wisconsin averse to throwing in a quote or six. With some players it may seem like a paucity of ideas but with Frahm they all come across as logical. At times he also gets that tough Texas tenor sound which isn't surprising as he's now on the faculty of Texas State Uni.

On drums, Ernesto Cervini is a powerhouse. Whether unleashing a battery of sound, sensitive brushwork or subtle hand-drumming, he delivers. Ernesto too composes - I think the opening The Nurse is in came from his pen (or whatever composers use these days!). An absolutely tremendous set. 

This was the trio's third visit to Seven Arts, let's hope they're back again in the not too distant future.

Numbers included: The Nurse is in; Thinking of Benny (for Benny Golson); The Road; Disco Nern; Moonface Lament; Vesper Flights; Doo Dip Dip.

Saul Duff's Dufftet: Saul Duff (tenor sax); Felix Burling (trumpet); Joseph Frost-Tesfaye (piano); Joe Wilkes (double bass); Oli Reeves (drums)

© Patti
Earlier, Saul Duff's Dufftet played a stellar opening set that prepared the audience, who'd turned out in their numbers, for what was to follow. The programme of originals by Saul Duff was interesting and varied ranging from hard bop to a contemporary mode with a few areas in between.

A band to keep an eye out for. Lance

Memory; Inspiration; Rainy Day; Night Drive; Duff Samba; The Brook
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