Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

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).

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Album review: Nancy Harrow w. Buck Clayton's Jazz Stars Wild Women Don't Have The Blues (Exceleration Music)

Nancy Harrow (vocals); Buck Clayton (trumpet, arrangements); Dickie Wells (trombone); Tommy Gwaltney (clarinet, alto sax); Buddy Tate (tenor sax); Danny Banks (baritone sax); Dick Wellstood (piano); Kenny Burrell (guitar); Milt Hinton (bass); Oliver Jackson (drums)

I noticed in the current issue of Jazzwise that Alyn Shipton reviews a reissue of Nancy Harrow's 1960 recording with Buck Clayton's Jazz Stars - Wild Women Don't Have The Blues. Alyn awards the album four stars and justifiably so.

Originally recorded for the Candid label, this reissue is on vinyl and released by Exceleration Music who took over Candid and several other jazz related labels including Mack Avenue (DETAILS).

I didn't receive a review copy but that didn't matter as I've treasured the original recording ever since it was 'compacted'. Great singer, great band, great arrangements and great tunes.

Take me Back Baby. Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing wrote this for the old Basie band and with the soloists: Tate, Clayton and Wells all being Basie Alumni and Kenny Burrell playing rhythm guitar á la Freddie Green, Basie lives and the scene is set for 'Mama' Harrow to make her entrance. A very individual voice with a hint of Billie, Helen Humes, Maxine and Ivie Anderson - but only just a hint.
All Too Soon. By association, Ivy springs to mind but it's Harrow's baby. Gwaltney takes one on clarinet followed by Wells' distinctive sound full of slurs and slurps and his own brand of slideology. Clayton blows muted behind the vocal. 
Can't We Be Friends? Tate has a nice big fat solo followed by Wellstood and some tasty guitar from Burrell.  Clayton too is in there pitching along with Harrow's vocal - which is as much a musical story as it is a song. Only the greats can pull off something like that and our girl (who was still recording in 2024 at the age of 94) does just that.
On the Sunny Side of the Street. An uptempo romp. Buck tightly muted, Burrell releasing some dazzling single string flurries, swinging piano from Wellstead and, of course, a great vocal.
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues. The title track, composed and recorded by Ida Cox in 1924 is effectively revived by Harrow along with open horn from Buck, clarinet from Gwaltney and blues piano from Wellstood. 
I've Got the World on a String. More imaginative singing, trombone by Wells, Gwaltney on alto this time and another masterclass in arranging by Clayton.
I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I've Got. Duke's composition is given an Ellingtonian feel beginning with some Carneyesque baritone from Banks. The horns have the harmonic depth that the number demands and Harrow does justice to the lyric.
Blues For Yesterday. Composed by blues pianist Leroy Carr and subsequently recorded by Louis Armstrong, a powerful Clayton solo leads into more distinctive blues singing by Harrow. The underrated Gwaltney on clarinet, Wellstood on piano and Tate, arguably the most blues-orientated of the horns, captures the mood as indeed does Nancy Harrow - the reigning Empress of the Blues! Lance
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