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

18918 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 782 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 18.) 61.

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.

Sun 20: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 20: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.

Mon 21: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 21: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. Coltrane centenary.

Tue 22: ???

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A John Coltrane Centenary Concert (b. 23. 09. 1926). SOLD OUT!
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 24: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 24: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 24: Arun Ghosh @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £21.05. (£22.00. on the door). A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 24: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00.

Fri 25: Mark Williams Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Get the Blessing + Dilettante @ The Cluny (Cluny 2), Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £18.00. + bf. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 25: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 26: Adam Fairhall & Johnny Hunter: Play Mary Lou Williams @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 26: John Pope Quintet + Urvashi @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £15.40. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.

Sunday, August 09, 2026

Album review: Stefon Harris + Blackout feat. Casey Benjamin (Motéma Music)

Stefon Harris (vibes, marimba); Christian Sands (piano, keys); Dezron Douglas (bass); Terreon Gully (drums); Casey Benjamin (vocoder, alto/soprano sax, aerophone) + Weedie Braimah (djembe tks 1, 4, 9, 10); Dwayne Clark (spoken word tk 10); Scott Arcangel (wind, string orch. tks 3, 6, 8, 11); Anne Drummond (flute tks 3, 6, 8, 11); Oran Etkin (clarinet tks 3, 6, 8, 11); Eric Eaton (cello tks 3,11)

Harris describes Legacy Dances as both a celebration and a tribute to electro-soul-jazz innovator Casey Benjamin who passed away in 2024. These are his last recordings. They are memorable for his crusty sax solos as well as his vocoder voice manipulations and the strange sounds from the aerophone.

Back down on Planet Earth, along with his band Blackout, Harris plays vibes and marimba very effectively throughout. Libation features Braimah's djembe and there's all sorts going on beneath Dwayne Clark's dramatic narration of We Are an African People.

Echoes of the Lion and West End Blues are inspired by Willie 'the Lion' Smith and Louis Armstrong respectively. The former, not surprisingly, has a lot of piano whilst on the latter Harris recreates note for note what was, arguably, the first great jazz cadenza on record.

It took me awhile before I got to grips with everything that was happening and the philosophical concept is something I'm still struggling with but, at the end of the day, it's one to seek out and to make your own mind up. You'll  find a lot of hidden depths. One thing is for sure, if you're into vibraphones you'll want to add it to your bucket list. Lance

Legacy Dances; Wonderful World Intro; What a Wonderful World; Echoes of the Lion; West End Blues; I Know Love; Ell's Boogie; A Radical's Love; Libation; We Are an African People; I Know Love (extended version)
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive