Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18402 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 266 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 31 ), 76

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

April

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Zoë Gilby & Johnny Hunter @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Tom Remon + Laurence Harrison @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 09: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Michael Littlefield @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Blues.
Thu 09: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra w. Dan Johnson @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. £15.00. inc. bf.

Fri 10: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Joe Steels: Celebrating Wes Montgomery @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Joe Steels, Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Gambling Janes @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 10: Jake Leg Jug Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 10: Steve White Trio @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00. + bf. Soul Drum (Acid Jazz Records) album tour.

Sat 11: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £26.80.

Sun 12: Swing Social @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Admission: Donations (£5.00. - £10.00. suggested). Swing dance taster class, social dancing to Niffi Osiyemi Trio, DJs. Non dancers welcome. A Cluny-Swing Tyne event.
Sun 12: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 12: Trio Grand @ The White Room, Stanley. 6:30-9:30pm. £10.84.
Sun 12: SH#RP Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Chilly at the Chilli - No Heat in Heaton!

The music was cool and the temperature even cooler owing to a reputed malfunction of the central heating system. Hopefully this will be rectified soon as tonight saw the biggest audience in quite a while and it would be unfortunate if frostbite were to prevent them returning.
It was the usual suspects plus Laurie Brown on vibes. In the line-up was John Rowland (ten), Darren Grainger (alt), Dave Weisser (tpt), Barry Ashcroft (pno), Mick Danby (bs), James (gtr) and Eric Stutt (dms). Later, John Pope (bs), David Carnegie (dms) and an excellent guitarist called Stewart (see photo) spelled the rhythm section.
Lawrie played some fine vibes on "Moonglow" but, as last week, the highlight of the first set was a Barry Ashcroft original - a blues this time, the name of which I didn't catch.
After the break and the inevitable shuffling of the dots to accommodate the sitters-in, "Jive Samba" got things moving but it was the penultimate number that hit the home run - Shorty Rogers' "Short Stop" with a scorching solo from Darren which, considering his recent setback is no mean achievement.
Note for Laurie and John R re "Rosetta" Click here or for the relationship between "Yardbird suite" and "Rosetta" click here.

4 comments :

laurie brown said...

thanks for the gen on Rosetta Lance
still have'nt found my recording of it.

Anonymous said...

I hadn't realised that Rosetta and Yardbird Suite used the same chords yet when you and John asked me how the middle of Rosetta went I automatically sang the bridge to Yardbird Suite!

Anonymous said...

The first 4 measures of the bridge of Rosetta are similar and I've heard it said before that is where the Parker YBSuite harmonies came from but I'm not sure. The second 4of the bridge is a bit different. I came across the old song 'I saw Stars' from a Rebecca Kilgore CD also from Keith Stephen (Django recorded it) and discovered it's bridge is identical to YBSuite so I wondered if that's where Bird maybe got the bridge harmonies from?
Roly

Anonymous said...

It could be although I would guess that Bird was probably more familiar with "Rosetta" than "I Saw Stars" and the rest of Rosetta does, loosely speaking, provide the basis for Yardbird.

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