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

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. SOLD OUT!
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).
Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
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!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Album review: Caili O'Doherty - Bluer Than Blue, Celebrating Lil Hardin Armstrong (Outside in Music)

Caili O'Doherty (piano, arranger); Tamir Shmerling (bass); Cory Cox (drums); Nicole Glover (tenor sax); Tahira Clayton, Michael Mayo (vocals). 

Bluer Than Blue, Celebrating Lil Hardin Armstrong is a long overdue appreciation of Louis Armstrong's second wife. It could be argued that pianist and composer Lil Hardin Armstrong's contribution to Oliver's Creole Jazz Band and Armstrong's Hot Five were much greater than the historians would have us believe.

Pianist O'Doherty came to a similar conclusion whilst studying at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. The journey of discovery that followed ultimately led to this excellent album, updating Lil Armstrong's compositions and installing them with new vigor without losing the spirit of the originals.

Let's Call it Love, recorded by Lil Armstrong in 1937, features a vocal by Mayo, a drum solo and swinging piano by the leader. Ms Armstrong, I'm sure, would have approved.

Clip Joint, from 1961, was originally a big band recording with a rare vocal by  Lil. Here it has a booting tenor solo by Glover and some scatting by Clayton. 

Let's Get Happy Together, written in 1938, opens with a piano intro followed by Clayton's vocal and an extended tenor solo from Glover who brings it well into the present century. One of those songs that should be heard as often as Happy Birthday!

Struttin' With Some Barbecue, originally recorded by the Hot Five in 1927, is a two-fisted solo stride piano romp by O'Doherty who has done her homework well and graduates with honours.

Happy Today, Sad Tomorrow, from the same 1938 session as Let's Get Happy Together once again features Clayton as well as more fine piano from the leader. Glover explores the tenor from top to bottom - what a player!

Bluer Than Blue, from 1937, Clayton updates and captures the pathos of lost love underlined sympathetically by O'Doherty's piano accompaniment and Shmerling's bass solo.

Two Deuces, recorded by the Hot Five in 1928, is updated into a boppy arrangement with, I think, Clayton and Mayo duetting in unison. Solos by tenor and drums. Two aces!

Riffin' the Blues, recorded in 1940 as by Lil Armstrong's Dixielanders, Shmerling does what Wellman Braud did on the original - plays some mighty fine bass. O'Doherty moves up a gear or three with some juicy chords and dextrous right hand explorations. Glover's tenor solo has a distinct eastern, and I don't mean New York, flavour. 

Just For a Thrill, perhaps Lil Armstrong's most remembered tune, dates back to 1936. Clayton's vocal is simply beautiful. Singing as though she means it and maybe she does.

I'll be hard-pushed to find another album that combines the past with the present without any loss of respect for either era than this one. Lance

Release date: March 7.
 
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