Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat 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

19,012 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 876 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 16) 55.

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

October.

Sat 17: SunOrbitUs @ Culture House, Sunderland. 11:00am - 5:00pm. Closing event in a year-long piece of music. 11:00am-1:00pm Improvisation workshop w. Faye MacCalman; 2:00-5:00pm Collective Improvised Performance by Sunderland residents. SOLD OUT!
Sat 17: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 17: Martin Taylor @ Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £48.72; £43.37. Solo guitar. SOLD OUT!

Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Jump jive.
Sun 18: Guisborough Big Band @ Redcar Rugby Club. 5:00-8:00pm. ‘Charity Big Band Birthday Bash’ in aid of Parkinson’s UK & Young Sounds UK. Free (donations on the door).
Sun 18: Martin Taylor @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £23.30. Solo guitar.
Sun 18: Ben Crosland Quartet with Steve Waterman @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Sue Ferris Quintet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Pete Tanton (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Tue 20: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Head, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Tickets from Tully’s, Rothbury. Coquetdale Jazz. Note change of venue.
Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Scotty Adair.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: FILM: Blue Moon @ Washington Arts Centre. 1:00pm. £4.50 (inc. bf). Biopic of lyricist Lorenz Hart.
Wed 21: De'Sean Jones’ Urban Art Orchestra @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.; £5.00. student, unwaged; free to Mercury Awards ticket holders. De'Sean Jones (tenor sax, EWI); Tjoe Man Cheung (guitar); Mikele Montolli (double bass) + others TBA.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 21: Roby Glod-Steve Sewell Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Thu 22: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 22: Mercury Prize @ Utility Arena Newcastle. 8:00pm. £60.25.; £48.75. Line-up inc. Knats.
Thu 22: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bandstand!, Exhibition Park, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.20 (inc. bf) via Instagram. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Thu 22: Olly Styles Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.75.

Fri 23: Sara Oschlag w. Arnie Somogyi Trio @ The Lit & Phil. 1:00pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); John Hirst (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Emma Fisk’s Hot Club du Nord @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Maja Bugge & Dave Evans @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Fri 23: Knats @ King Street Social Club, North Shields. 7:00pm. £17.00., £14.70., £11.30., £5.50. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.
Fri 23: Sara Oschlag & Arnie Somogyi w. Ben Lawrence @ Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (keyboards); Arnie Somogyi (double bass).
Fri 23: Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook @ Redhills, Durham. 8:00pm. James Pearson (piano); Sam Burgess (double bass); Chris Higginbottom (drums); Alex Garnett (sax); Polly Gibbons (vocals). Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: SwanNek + Jacob Egglestone @ Fabio’s Bar, Durham. 9:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Malcolm Saul Info Wanted.

I nearly fell off 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

8 comments :

Hil said...

I have many happy memories of the old days when Malcolm was a good friend to Mike and myself.
Will be in contact with Janet.

Hilary Gilby.

laurie brown said...

I almost grew up in the music business with Malcolm from our first pro job together with The Charles Aimer Band at the Coatham Hotel in Redcar. That would be in
about 1956!

Anonymous said...

PS to Janet. I will Email you about
Malcom & dig out the one photo I
have of Malcom & myself taken all
those years ago in Redcar.

Lance said...

The first time I encountered Malcolm Saul was at Gateshead Town Hall in the mid '60s. Sonny Stitt was appearing with the Bill Le Sage Quartet. Sonny Stitt made it but the rest of the band's car broke down somewhere on the A1. The organisers - Jazz North-east of course - sent a panic message and managed to get the Malcolm Saul Trio who were, at the time, resident band at Billy Botto's club in Byker.
They dashed over and - well the rest is history. Stitt was magnificent and Malcolm' Ronnie Pearson (dms) - I forget who the bass player was, probably Pete or Derek - were equally brilliant. It still remains in my memory as one of the best ever concerts due in no small part to Malcolm's sympathetic backing.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for all your comments and info concerning my great late dad...Keep it coming guy's..It's such a blessing to me,my kids and for my grandkids when they get a bit older.

Janet Saul X

Anonymous said...

As promised, a few bits n' pieces re-Malcolm Saul. He backed Americans from the late 70s to c.1983, 18 or so, I would say. The Malcolm Saul Trio as such backed Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis (twice), Al Grey & Buddy Tate (3 times), Al G. & Jimmy Forrest, Buddy Tate (without A.G.), Joe Newman, Sonny Stitt and Red Holloway, Al Cohn, Harry 'Sweets' Edison, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson (twice), Nat Adderley, James Moody.
The bits n' pieces I relayed to you at the gig last week were 'Lockjaw' always sticking rigidly to two 45 min sets from which he would never deviate, but with Malcolm, on one occasion, he was blazing away 75 mins later! Ernie Garside, 'Lockjaw's agent, was looking on in amazement - he'd never done this anywhere else. And 'Lockjaw' did a second set of 45 mins too that night - if only someone had recorded it all!
At the Alexandra Palace Festival, London, the Nigel Stanger Quartet did a set with Malcolm on piano. Later, at that festival, I found Malcolm listening intently to Pinetop Perkins, pianist with the Muddy Waters Blues Band. Perkins was no great technician but a hugely authoritative blues exponent. Malcolm had many times more technique but nevertheless he really appreciated the special qualities of the blues pianist. Not all jazz pianists would recognise that.
What year did Malcolm meet with the untimely fatal accident?

Anonymous said...

Thank you Chris for all the info on my dad...He died on 25/11/1990.

Janet Saul

Mike Carton said...

I met Malcolm in 1982 at one of the Corner House Bank Holiday sessions.
Somehow or other we ended up in Breda [NL ] with Peter Gascoigne's Saratoga Jazzmen together with Scotty [Adair], drums and Tommy Moran [reeds], Roy Willis[ guitar] and Dave Murphy [bass].
A never to be forgotten experience.
Bless you Malcolm
Mike Carton

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