Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18699 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 573 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 11) 27

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

July

Tue 14: Vieux Carre Hot 4 @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. 12:30pm. £15.00 (reservations: 0191 237 3697). ‘July Jazz Barbecue!’
Tue 14: Crook Little Brass Bash @ Crook Community Centre. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Tue 14: Barnard Castle Little Brass Bash @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Tue 14: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Tickets from Tully’s, Rothbury. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Tue 14: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 15: Willington Big Brass Bash @ Town Park, Willington. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Wed 15: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Café Needle’s Eye, Promenade, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea NE64 6XE. 6:00pm. Free. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Wed 15: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 15: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 15: Side Café Orkestar @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00 (£11.00. adv.); £12.00 concs (£8.00. concs adv.).

Thu 16: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 16: Spennymoor Big Brash Bash @ Jubilee Park, Spennymoor. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Thu 16: Coxhoe Little Brass Bash @ Village Green (Pit Wheel). 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Thu 16: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Lollo Rosso, Morpeth. 7:30pm. Free. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Thu 16: Stevie Jay Duo @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free. Julija Jacenaite & Steve Glendinning.
Thu 16: DK Harrell @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00 + bf. USA blues.
Thu 16: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 17: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 17: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 17: Seaham Big Brass Bash @ Terrace Green, Seaham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Fri 17: Newton Aycliffe Big Brass Bash @ Town Park, Newton Aycliffe. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Fri 17: Ray Stubbs R&B Allstars @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 17: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm.
Fri 17: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm. Free. Lollo Rosso, Morpeth. 8:00pm. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.

Sat 18: Streets of Brass @ Market Place, Durham City. 10:00am-4:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Sat 18: Brass Boat Cruise @ Boathouse, Elvet Bridge Jetty, Durham City. Departures at 10:30am, 12 noon, 1:30pm, 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £5.00 (all prices + bf). Durham Brass Festival. Various bands.
Sat 18: Party in the Park @ Wharton Park, Durham City. 5:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands. Entrance o/s Durham Railway Station (Northbound platform).
Sat 18: Zoë Gilby & Dean Stockdale @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm.
Sat 18: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00.
Sat 18: Tyne Valley Big Band + Revolutionaires @ Pelton Community Centre. 7:00pm. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 18: Dale Storr @ The Straw Yard, The Barracks, Berwick. 7:30pm. £15.38. Solo piano.
Sat 18: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Red Lion Inn, Alnmouth. 8:30pm. Free. Lollo Rosso, Morpeth. 8:00pm. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.

Sun 19: Brass Boat Cruise @ Boathouse, Elvet Bridge Jetty, Durham City. Departures at 10:30am, 12 noon, 1:30pm, 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £5.00 (all prices + bf). Durham Brass Festival. Various bands.
Sun 19: Jacob Egglestone Trio @ The Bandstand, The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free.
Sun 19: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bishop Auckland Town hall. 2:00pm. £7.00 (inc. bf). A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 19: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 19: Michael Young Trio @ Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 19: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 19: SwanNek @ The Bandstand, The Sele, Hexham. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Twelve 06, High St., Newbiggin-by-the-Sea NE64 6DR. 3:00pm. Free. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Sun 19: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sun 19: Dale Storr: The Sounds of New Orleans @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Solo piano. POSTPONED!

Mon 20: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 20: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Corner House, Newcastle - The Golden Age

"The Golden Age of Jazz" is a term often bandied about. It's a subjective thing and to some it is New Orleans in the 1920s whilst to others it could mean the big bands of the '30s, 52nd St in '40s and so on. For those living in the North-east of England the 1980s was a particularly lustrous time with the seemingly endless stream of name Americans brought by JAZZ NORTH EAST to, mainly but not always, the Corner House in Heaton. Supported by a local rhythm section of Malcolm Saul/Billy Harper (pno); Pete Stuart/Derk Dixon (bs); Scott Adair/Ronnie Pearson/Adrian Tilbrook (dms) just about every available name turned out at least once and, if some didn't always live up to their reputation others often surpassed it.
Names I remember include: Nat Adderley, Doc Cheatham, Al and Joe Cohn, Lockjaw Davis, Harry Edison, Tal Farlow, Art Farmer, Jimmy Forrest, Al Grey, Slide Hampton, Peanuts Hucko, Barney Kessel, Jimmy Knepper, Jimmy McPartland, Jay McShann, Memphis Slim, James Moody, Mark Murphy, Joe Newman, Red Rodney, Bobby Shew, Sonny Stitt, Buddy Tate, Cleanhead Vinson, Jiggs Whigham, Kai Winding and Jimmy Witherspoon to mention just some.
Peanuts Hucko played with the Mainstreet Jazzmen whilst McPartland and Cheatham (I think) were with the Saratoga - please correct me if I'm wrong (as if I have to ask!)
Did you have a special favourite (Sonny Stitt for me)? Who have I missed out?
For photos from many of those sessions right click here then 'open in new window'.

12 comments :

Anonymous said...

Clem (Avery) used to take me to sit in on the Mainstreet Jazzmen sessions at C/Hse on a Tues evening. I was just getting started and very fortunate to be on the sessions when Wild Bill Davison, Peanuts Hucko, Dick Wellstood and Ralph Sutton came over. That was 1979/80.
Joe McMullen tpt, Steve Andrews/Stan Martin/Jimmy Ruddick reeds, Lawrence McBriarty tbn, Billy Calboutin drms, Norman Rudd pno & Clem Avery bass.
I went also to listen to many of the JNE sessions featuring local R/Secn + legendary guest. As you say, a golden age.
Great memories.
Roly

Anonymous said...

I can't believe I've played at the same venue as Sonny Stitt [and all those other people!]...

Anonymous said...

One day some young chap will say "I can't believe I've played at the same venue as Paul and Roly (and all those other people!)..."

cptfinch said...

I remember as a young flugelhornist seeing Art Farmer (late 80s early 90s ??). It was great!

Anonymous said...

Mid 1980s I think.

Anonymous said...

I nearly fell of my seat when I came across this..Malcolm Saul is my dad and I have been trying for years to find out any info about him on the internet....I would be more than grateful if anyone knew him or has any old pics or any thing about to contact me at jes46@hotmail.co.uk........This is a real blessing for me...Thank you sooo much....Janet Saul

Mal said...

I grew up in the North east....& spent many nights watching or playing Jazz at the Corner House....One night I went to see The Michael Garrick band & his flight was delayed & I ended up Playing Fender Rhodes with the rest of his Band.......A massive night for me......Mal Maddock

Lance said...

Hey Mal I remember. I also remember when you used to come into Windows Music Shop (where I worked)and play the keyboards entertaining both staff and customers. How ya doin' man?
Lance.

Mal said...

Hi Lance I am doin good....Working as a Freelance Keyboard player/MD in London.....Incredible that you remember me from all those years ago......There was something fresh about the Jazz scene around the North East back then.....I miss it I gained lots of valuable experience....Hope to get up to that part of the world soon.....& maybe catch some local Jazz........Regards Mal Maddock

Mal said...

Does any one know what happened to Willie Payne.....The last I saw of him he left the trio I was working in to tour with Dizzy Gillespie........?
Mal Maddock

Lance said...

I heard that Willie died. Can anyone confirm?

Mal Maddock said...

Hi Lance... Just looked through all the photo's..... Stunning..... There was one pic where there was a? about the drummer... I think it may have been a guy called of all things Dennis Healy ?....... Once again fantastic pics.... Mal Maddock
(You are right I'll correct it if I can find it! - Lance)

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