Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,105 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 969 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Nov. 14) 39.

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

November

Sun 15: Lianne Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am-5:00pm. Day 2/2. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe. 7:00pm. £48.18 (to include dinner); £17.43 (concert only).
Sun 15: Sarah Gillespie & Chris Montague @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £18.00.
Sun 15: Liane Carroll @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Solo performance. SOLD OUT!

Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Jacob Egglestone, Paul Grainger, Joe Deans.
Tue 17: Grammy Season (Laubrock/Seabrook/Lovato/Rainey) @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. JNE.

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 19: Papa G’s Troves @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 19: Marina Josephina @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £10.60; £10.60.; £8.50 Early Bird.

Fri 20: Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion: The Music of Duke Ellington @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Customs House Big Band @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.

Sat 21: Pete Tanton Duo @ Awesome Frank’s, West Jesmond Metro Station, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00.
Sat 21: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Westovian Theatre, South Shields. 7:30pm. £18.00.

Monday, August 24, 2026

Album review: Branford Marsalis and Dianne Reeves - Dedicated to You (Blue Note)


Dianne Reeves (vocal); Branford Marsalis (tenor/soprano sax); Joey Calderazzo (piano); Eric Revis (bass); Justin Faulkner (drums).

Given that this is John Coltrane's centenary year it's not surprising that tributes are being paid both in concert and on record. One of the albums that has provided fertile fodder for the tributes is the 1963 Impulse recording Trane made with Johnny Hartman.

The original is one of the all-time great vocal albums. It can sit proudly alongside the Sinatras, Bennetts, Lady Days or any other recording artists that you care to mention. The question posed here is who takes the Hartman role? Whose voice is low enough and rich enough to carry it off?

© Shervin Lainez
The answer is simple, look to a different gender which is what happens here. In Dianne Reeves we have the same feeling but pitched higher thus avoiding comparision. In her own way Reeves makes it at least 50% her own. Her a cappella intro to Lush Life is spine-tingling whilst They Say It's Wonderful captures the middle eight perfectly stretching the 'and' to rhyme with 'grand'.

Marsalis is relatively restrained on the vocal tracks but on the instrumental tracks he cuts loose on both soprano and tenor with the ace rhythm section occasionally driving him into (almost) sheets of sound mode. Not always though. He is at his most lyrical on Central Park West, Say it Over and Over Again and Nancy With the Laughing Face. Special mention of Calderazzo's solos on the ballads. I'm not suggesting you opt for one album over the other but having both wouldn't hurt. Recommended. Lance

Vocal tracks: Autumn Serenade; Dedicated to You; You Are Too Beautiful; Lush Life; My One and Only Love; They Say It's Wonderful.
Instrumentals: Big Nick; 26-2; Central Park West;  Say it Over and Over Again; Nancy With the Laughing Face; Big Nick (bonus track). 
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