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

18482 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 346 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 30 ) 80

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

May

Sat 02: Midnite Follies Orchestra @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £20.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. All-star line-up.
Sat 02: Knats Masterclass & Jam II @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00-3:00pm. £15.00.
Sat 02: Shannon Pearl + John Pope & John Garner @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Witch-pop’ + Pope & Garner.
Sat 02: Knats + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sat 02: Midnite Special @ Station East, Gateshead. 7:30pm. Free. A Lonnie Donegan ‘King of Skiffle’ celebration.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 03: Chilcott Jazz Mass @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 9:30am. Free. Sung communion with Parish Choir (featuring Bob Chilcott’s music). A Jesmond Community Festival event.
Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 03: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Mark Toomey (alto sax).
Sun 03: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: Tom Waits for No Man @ Oxygenic, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm (2:30pm doors). Neckties and Boxing Gloves album launch. £14.00 (gig & a CD); £8.00 (gig only). SOLD OUT!
Sun 03: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 03: John Pope & John Garner @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.

Mon 04: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Pete Tanton’s Cuban Heels @ The Library, South Parade, Whitley Bay. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 05: Leah Kirk (voice): Final Year Music Recital @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 2:30pm. Free, open to the public.
Tue 05: Jenny Baker (voice): Final Year Music Recital @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 4:20pm. Free, open to the public.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 07: Robert Finley @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50. Excellent US falsetto soul/blues voice.
Thu 07: ALT @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Rob Walker. Thu 07: Liam & Shayo @ The Globe , Newcastle. 8:00pm. £5.00. Liam Oliver (guitar), Shayo Oshodi (vocals).
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 08: Alan Law Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Law, Mick Shoulder, John Bradford.
Fri 08: Giles Strong & Richard Herdman @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Guitar duo.
Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Milne Glendinning Band @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 6:00pm . Free. A Late Shows event.
Fri 08: Nigel Kennedy @ The Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Line-up inc. Alec Dankworth.

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Album review: Dave Slonaker Big Band - Shifty Paradigms (Origin Records)

Dave Slonaker (MD, composer, arranger); Bob Sheppard (alto/soprano sax); Brian Scanlon (alto/soprano sax, flute); Rob Lockart, Tom Luer (tenor sax, clarinet); Adam Schroeder (baritone sax, bass clarinet, flute); Alex Iles, Charlie Morillas, Ido Meshulam (trombone); Bill Reichenbach (bass trombone, bass trumpet); Wayne Bergeron, Dan Fornero, Clay Jenkins, Ron Stout (trumpet); Ed Czach (piano); Andy Waddell (guitar); Edwin Livingston (bass); Peter Erskine (drums); Brian Kilgore (perc. tks 4 , 5, 8)

The third big band album from Hollywood based composer and arranger Slonaker assembles a collection of first call studio musicians for a recording that swings for today without paying too much attention to the past.

Every track stands out - not just for the arrangement which we take for granted will be of the highest order - but for the soloists who deliver the goods that the charts demand.

Dash Cam, influenced by his many adventures on L.A.'s freeways. Meshulam on valve trombone and Luer on tenor ride shotgun on this commute.
Bye Bye Blues, has been around, it seems, since the original Adam albeit not in waltz time over which this Adam (Schroeder) blows baritone. Slonaker changes it into a fast 4/4 for Stout's trumpet solo. Beneath it all there's a nod towards Miles' All Blues.
Comin' Home is all about leaving home and coming back albeit as a changed individual. Scanlon on alto and Waddell on guitar represent those changes.
Blue Windows. Plenty solos on this one. Sheppard on soprano, Meshulam, Jenkins, Schroeder, Livingston, Scanlon and Lockart all in their pitching.
Shifty Paradigms, the title track gives space to Reichenbach on bass trumpet, Sheppard on sop and Kilgore on congas.
3rd and Four. Slonaker takes intervals of major 3rds and 4ths for his inspiration. For the layman (a bit of useless information) think of the interval c to e or f or as the first two notes of, respectively, I Can't Get Started and All the Things You Are. Solos from Czach, Jenkins, Morillas, Sheppard (alto), Livingston and legendary drummer Erskine.
Cathedrals relates to the great cathedrals of Europe of which Slonaker has visited. Melodic and respectful of those grand structures and the artisans who built them. The jazz artisans are Iles and Waddell.
Roundabout. An uptempo samba that has Stout, Lockart and Erskine in fine form bringing an excellent big band bash to a close.

Big bands no longer tour the world in a coach that keeps breaking down. Instead they drive to the studio in their Lincolns and Fords and record music like this. Music that's better value than their cars. Lance
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive