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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

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

Monday, February 17, 2025

Album review: Alison Rayner Quintet - SEMA4 (ECN & Blow the Fuse Records)

Alison Rayner (bass); Buster Birch (drums); Deirdre Cartwright (guitar); Diane McLoughlin (tenor/soprano saxes); Steve Lodder (piano)

A timely release (March 7) as later (March 16) ARQ play the Globe which on the strength of  this album and the quintet's previous visits to the venue is one for the diary.

Espiritu Libre, presumably translates as Free Spirit and the spirits do indeed run free although not out of control. Composed by Rayner, the musicians create the illusion of frolicking in the mountains of the Basque country when in actual fact the frollicking is being done at the Vortex Jazz Club in East London.

Looking For a Quiet Place. A composition by McLoughlin, who has found just such a place to contemplate, mavbe discover the secret of life, or stumble upon a previously unknown minor chord progression. The solos and the melody lines are beautiful.

Semaphore opens with Rayner's rich, sonorous double bass lines before upping the tempo for some catchy riffing from the others. Solos jump in and out, McLoughlin's tenor and Cartwright's guitar to the fore. Changes of mood, piano from Lodder with Buster boosting the rhythm. Rayner must have been delighted with the way they handled her tune. The Vortex audience show their appreciation - they know they're in on the ground floor of something quite special.

Hamble Horror, by Steve Lodder, is described as: 'In which our hero survives a watery disaster and survives'. What happened? Did he fall asleep in the bath? Did he find himself up the creek without a paddle or was he caught in the rain without his brolly? I don't know the answer but I do know that this is the swingingest track so far - certainly the horror factor has quickly been dispensed with. Brilliant.

Signals From Space. Some cosmic balderdash surrounds the title but the music itself is anything but eight million light years away from Earth. It's there if you look out of the window at night. It's not the music of the spheres you hear but composer Cartwright's guitar or McLoughlin's soaring soprano turning the night sky into a new galaxy right on our doorstep.

Trip Dance. Rayner says that it feels like a dance with a little trip in it. A bit like my terpsichorean efforts. If it's not included in the set at the Globe then I'll request it. Drum solo from Buster breaks things up nicely.

Riding the Waves. McLoughlin's in the composer's chair and takes the first solo on tenor. Lodder follows with some  complex runs and big fat chords before giving way to Cartwright for a few bars. Some good ensemble work.

The Handkerchief Tree or Davidia Involucrato, as we horticulturists often refer to it when strolling around Kew Gardens, is described by Lodder as 'flowers like hanging hankies'. He copped a glance of them up in Abney Park, North London.

All Will be Well, composed by Rayner over a two year period when her sister was gravely ill. There's a poignancy about it that creates a mood reminiscent of Mingus' Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. There's a brief period of hope that sadly didn't materialise. I defy anyone  to listen to it without having to fight back the tears.

Don't forget: the Globe March 16. You can hear the music live and buy a CD to take it all home with you.. Lance

Talking about the Globe, if you like the venue, the wide  variety of music presented and want to help it onwards and upwards find out about the crowdfunding project by going  to crowdfunder.co.uk/p/the-globe.

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