Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18878 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 742 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 4.) 21.

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

September.

Fri 11: Esther Bennett @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £10.00. Esther Bennett (vocals); Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass).
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £14.09 (inc. bf).

Sat 12: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 12: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £16.26 (inc. bf).

Sun 13: 58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00-3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: King Bees @ Shape Patisserie, Darlington. 3:00pm. Free. Duo (Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor). A Rhythm & Blues Fringe event. Blues excellence.
Sun 13: Alligator Gumbo @ The Cluny. 5:00pm. £17.15.; £11.43; £5.72.
Sun 13: Eternal Triangle + Andy Champion @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 14: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 17: Front Porch Blues @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 17: Miles 100 @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. Jack Courtney (trumpet); Sue Ferris (tenor sax); Tom Atkinson (guitar); Alan Law (piano); Deon Krishnan (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums). A night of Miles Davis.
Thu 17: Amphitrio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £7.00. Andrei Petrache (piano); Mike Alex (double bass); Philip Goron (drums).

Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Album review: Kenny Dorham - Blue Bossa in the Bronx Live From the Blue Morocco (Resonance)

Kenny Dorham (trumpet); Sonny Red (alto sax); Cedar Walton (piano); Paul Chambers (bass); Denis Charles (drums)

Another piece of buried treasure unearthed by the intrepid Zev Feldman. 

Recorded live at the Blue Morocco Club up in the Bronx back in 1967 it serves to demonstrate just how great a trumpet player Kenny Dorham was and how, living in an age where his contemporaries included Fats Navarro, Dizzy, Miles, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard, underrated he was. On the strength of his playing on this album it soon becomes evident that, on his day, he could hold his own with any of them. On that night in the Bronx he was most certainly 'on his day'.

Sonny Red (Sylvester Kyner) was another who never received the recognition he deserved. One of the three alto playing Sonnys - Stitt and Criss being the other two - inspired by Parker (which modern alto player wasn't?) Red, unlike Stitt and to a lesser extent Criss, absorbed Bird's teaching rather than cloning it. By 1967 he was very much his own man.

I was impressed when I heard Cedar Walton at Ronnie's in 2010 - 43 years after this recording - and I'm equally impressed here. Chambers is, as we'd come to expect by 1967, outstanding whether playing pizzicato or arco, soloing or supporting, along with Charles on drums they combine to provide a dream team for the horns to blow on.

This is bebop and beyond along with two beautiful ballad performances. Red tears at the heartstrings with Memories of You and Dorham stretches out on My One and Only Love.

The set opens with Dorham's compositional masterpiece  Blue Bossa - is there a jazz musician in the world who hasn't jammed on that one?! Bird's Confirmation, the two ballads, Milt Jackson's Bag's Groove, Dorham's Blue Friday and the traditional set closer The Theme follow. Normally the latter number is washed and dried in the space of a couple of choruses. Not this time. This time it lasts 8 minutes plus with Charles having a lengthy workout.

Highly recommended, not just for the music but also for the glossy, readable, booklet which runs to 34 pages with photos, interviews with Dorham's family, Dan Morganstern, Eddie Henderson, Charles Tolliver and a map of the Bronx.

The  CD runs for 73:33 minutes and is also available on deluxe double vinyl.

It's Napolean Brandy! Lance
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