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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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

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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