Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

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.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Sat 11: Spanish City Rollers @ Community Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival, Front Street, Tynemouth. 12 noon. Free.
Sat 11: Jazz Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival (o/s Tynemouth Priory), Tynemouth. Free. Vieux Carré Hot 4 (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Castillo Nuevo Trio (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Day 1/2.
Sat 11: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man + Adam Millington @ St John’s Chapel, Town Hall, Weardale DL13 1QF. 5:00pm (doors). £16.26., £10.84., £8.67., £5.42 (under 18).
Sat 11: Milne Glendinning Band @ Langley Tracks, Langley-on-Tyne. 5:30pm.
Sat 11: Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:30pm.
Sat 11: Karberry Big Band @ Forest Hall Social Club. 7:00pm. £7.00.
Sat 11: Ray Quinn: The King of Swing @ The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.

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.
 
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive