There'll be Some Changes Made...

Jazz, like football clubs and Westminster has its comings (Cummings?) and goings and these past few days and weeks have seen P45s given to Spurs' manager Thomas Frank and the Lords Mendelson and Doyle.

Down at the coast a more amicable parting of the ways saw trombonist and harmonica hot-shot Herbie Hudson, by mutual agreement, terminate his leadership of Harmony Brass at Cullercoats Crescent Club. I presume this is to concentrate on his free-lance connections with the jazz/folk/Americana trio Salty Dog.

The Monday lunchtime sessions will continue with sax/clarinet ace Jim McBriarty taking over the front line duties and the band changing its name to the Friends of Jazz. Lance

Preview: Strictly Smokin' Big Band featuring Giacomo Smith @ The Glasshouse - Feb. 27

Bruce Adams, Alan Barnes, Paul Booth, Matt  Ford, Polly Gibbons, Pete Long, Mike Lovatt, Claire Martin, Mark Nightingale, Dave O'Higgins, Dennis Rollins, Emma Smith, Joe Stilgoe, Anthony Strong and Hailey Tuck are just some of the major names that have appeared in and around Newcastle/Gateshead with the Strictly Smokin' Big Band. 

That illustrious rota of jazz A-Listers isn't closed - hopefully it never will be - and on Feb. 27 at the Glasshouse, SSBB host yet another big hitter in the form of Italian born, New York raised, UK resident, clarinet and sax star Giacomo Smith. 

GS first came to my attention when he was part of a storming gig by Kansas Smitty's House Band back in 2018 at the Glasshouse which was then known as 'The Sage'. Come Covid and among the few highlights of that dark period were the livestreams by KSHB with Giacomo 'Smitty's virtuosity well featured.

Ronnie Scott’s Classical All Stars – Gershwin, Bernstein & Beyond - Upstairs at Ronnie’s, London – Inaugural Classical Night

© Kate Wright

James Pearson (piano); Lizzie Ball (violin); Pete Long (sax, clarinet); Tom Dunnett (trombone); Jimmy T. Turner (vibes); Sam Burgess (bass); Matt Skelton (drums)

There’s a delicious irony in walking into the new Upstairs at Ronnie’s and realising that the ghost of Ronnie himself is alive and well - sitting at the grand piano in the shape of James Pearson.

In the absence of the great club founder and raconteur, Pearson has quietly picked up the mantle as storyteller-in-chief. Long before the first clarinet swoop of Rhapsody in Blue, he’s already taken the packed room on a guided tour through Aeolian Hall, Parisian car horns and grumpy viola sections - the sort of witty, historically literate patter Ronnie would have relished. Pearson has form as a “world-class pianist, composer and raconteur extraordinaire”, as one recent festival billed him, and that combination of easy humour and deep scholarship is exactly what stitches this new classical strand together.

Stockport Jazz

This week Stockport Jazz welcomes the Neil Yates Quartet featuring Neil Yates (trumpet), Andrzej Baranek (piano), Joshua Cavanagh-Brierley (bass) and Rick Weedon (drums).

Sunday February 15th 8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome

The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

Jazz on the Tyne Welcomes Joe Steels and A Blue Patch

In the latest edition of the podcast, presenter Colin Muirhead talks with local guitarist Joe Steels about his new album A Blue Patch and the associated tour, as well as upcoming jazz events in Hexham.  Together with tracks from A Blue Patch, you’ll hear music with Valentine’s Day in mind by Samara Joy, Noa Levy, Jo Harrop & Jamie McCredie, the Alex Clarke Quartet, Ben Wilcock & John Rae, Oscar Lavën, and Lindsay Hannon.

You can listen to the show anytime HERE.

Plus, you can request music for future programmes, or pass on news or feedback by emailing Colin at jazz.tyne.hive@gmail.com or by heading to www.jazzonthetyne.org.

Press release: Cheltenham Jazz Festival Announces Star-Studded 30th Anniversary Line-Up

Cheltenham Jazz Festival has announced details of its 30th anniversary edition, taking place from Wednesday 29th April to Monday 4th May 2026. One of Europe’s most popular jazz festivals, the six-day event will present a wide-ranging programme spanning international headliners, leading contemporary jazz artists, genre-crossing innovators and emerging UK talent. 

30 Years Young: The Next Chapter   

As Cheltenham Jazz Festival marks its 30th anniversary, the Festival celebrates three decades of championing world-class jazz, supporting emerging talent and bringing bold, diverse music to audiences in Cheltenham and beyond. Thirty years young, the Festival continues to look firmly to the future, building on a rich legacy of iconic performances while embracing new voices, fresh collaborations and innovative programming that will shape the next generation of jazz for years to come. 

Sunday Night @ the Globe: Gerry Richardson's Big Idea - Feb. 8

© Sheila Herrick

Gerry Richardson (organ, vocals); Dave Hignett, Mark Webb (trumpets); David 'Showtime' Gray (trombone); Garry Linsley (alto  sax); Stuart Johnson (tenor/soprano sax); Sue Ferris (tenor/baritone sax, flute); Rod Sinclair (guitar); Paul Smith (drums)

You wait seven years for a Big Idea gig then three come at once! October 2025, February 2026 and July 2026 may not actually come at once but in the overall timescale of things it does seem so. Not that I'm complaining, the nine piece soul/funk/jazz/blues outfit never fail to impress and I doubt if anyone at last night's full house session at the Globe would disagree.

Opening up with their signature tune, Stone Church, the Big Idea didn't come on with all guns blazing, just enough to whet our appetites for what we knew was in the pipeline. The temperature rose with Rod Sinclair's solo on Blue For Big Red, Ska Odyssey featured Stuart Johnson on tenor and David Gray on trombone. I got the feeling that Showtime was chomping at the bit - his day would come. His day did indeed come after Sue on tenor and Garry on alto had worked out on Gerry's tribute to Abdullah Ibrahim - Brand New Bag.

Durham Alumni Big Band and Saltburn Big Band Encounters in Concert @ Saltburn Theatre Feb. 6

Two big bands for the price of one!  A night of fine big band music, which as MC Django promised us, would demonstrate the great range that big band music encompasses. There was a family connection too, as brothers Sean and Kevin Eland were the respective musical directors.

First up were DABB who started with Summertime, which, on a cold wet night, warmed us all up. They ran through a varied set with particular highlights being a punchy arrangement of Sunny, and Steampunk, written by ex band director Matt Roberts, featuring a great steam train style rhythm and Sean Eland on wooden train whistle! Particular praise for the late stand-in bassist, whose name I didn't get, but did a fine job.

Press release: Sunday Night @ the Globe - Gerry Richardson's Big Idea. IT'S TONIGHT - NOT TO BE MISSED!

After a packed-out reunion gig in October 2025, Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea returns to The Globe for another night of powerful jazz/soul/funk.

Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea is a dynamic nine-piece Hammond-organ-based band exploring the jazz organ genre to the max! Soul, gospel, funk, swing and samba are all part of the mix. Add to that some kicking original tunes, many written as tributes to the legendary jazz and soul musicians who have inspired Gerry throughout his career and you get an unbeatable format for a great night’s music.

The Big Idea are: – Gerry Richardson – organ and vocals, Mark Webb & Dave Hignett – trumpet/flugelhorn, David Gray – trombone, Garry Linsley, Stuart Johnson & Sue Ferris – saxophones, Rod Sinclair – guitar and Paul Smith —drums.

Preview: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Thursday, February 12 - CANCELLED!

Sadly this much anticipated gig has had to be cancelled due to ill health.

It will be rescheduled in the, hopefully, not too distant future.