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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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

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. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. 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.

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

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Album review: Richard Baratta - Looking Back (Savant Records)

Richard Baratta (drums); Bill O'Connell (piano, arr.); Vincent Herring (alto sax, flute); Paul Bollenback (guitar); Michael Goetz (bass); Paul Rossman (percussion) + Caroll Scott (vocal on tk 5)

Looking back is a common approach amongst the mainstream core of jazz musicians. Of course  some look back further than others, often going as far back as the days when it all began. Others draw their repertoire from the 1930s, '40s and '50s - the years that spawned those GASbook classics that began life on Broadway or in Hollywood.

Although Richard Baratta has connections with the silver screen, like so many of his contemporaries in the jazz world of today, Baratta's retrovision only goes as far back as the pop and rock songs of the 1960s. That's okay, some good songs emerged as witness the ten tracks here.

James Brown's I Feel Good opens the album with a Latinish feel to it. Herring's alto soaring above the compulsive rhythm culminating with Baratta's break.

Mention Purple Haze and Jimi Hendrix springs to mind. Bill O'Connell's guitar solo points it in a different direction where Herring again excels over an uptempo swing.

Blowing in the Wind has appeared in many guises since Bob Dylan unleashed it on the world. Somewhere along the way Stan Getz brought it to the jazz table where Bill O'Connell picked it up and transformed it into the minor masterpiece it is here.

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, one of two Lennon and McCartney compositions, is another fine arrangement. It swings like a carnival in Brazil. The two Beatles may not have intended it to be played as such but it is to their credit that they provided O'Connell with the tools to sculpt a work of art.

Feeling Good, features Scott's deep throaty voice that sits well alongside the alto, guitar and piano solos.

California Dreamin', inspired by the flute solo on the original hit by the Mamaa and Papas, Herring does the fluting effectively and there's some fine west coast guitar and, of course, Baratta and Rossman taking it even further south.

Whole Lotta Love, from the Led Zep squad Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham, has a whole lot of drummin' with the others hovering in and out.

Hey Jude, the second Beatles tune, is surprisingly delightful. It's more subtle than the original. It also has a band vocal - you know the one lots of na na na nana nanas. The song, as we all know, began in Liverpool although more recently the Toon Army seem to have adopted it. As they are at Anfield tonight it will be interesting to hear if they are still singing after 90 minutes!

Otis Redding's Respect swings like crazy with Herring in full flight and the others breathing down his neck.

You Can't Always Get What You Want by those troubadours of rock and roll - Jagger and Richard - brings the album to a close. It's been one rollercoaster ride that proves that good songs didn't end with Rodgers and Hammerstein and nor did jazz die with John Coltrane. Check it out, you won't be disappointed. Lance

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