Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18621 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 485 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 14) 37

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

June

Wed 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 17: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 17: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 18: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 18: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 18: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 18: 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 19: Joe Steels Group @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 19: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 19: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 19: Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £14.33., £11.16., £8.00.
Fri 19: Martin Litton @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01 (inc. bf); £6.50 (inc. bf); £15.00 on the door. Solo piano. CANCELLED!
Fri 19: Jools Holland’s R&B Orchestra @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Joe Webb support set.
Fri 19: Hot Club du Nord @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 19: Jive Aces: The Roots of Rock & Roll @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00 + bf.

Sat 20: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tynedale Beer Festival, Corbridge. 5:00-6:00pm.
Sat 20: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 20: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Trinity Church, Gosforth, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. NCRO w. guests Dean Stockdale & Nick Ward.

Sun 21: From Lagos to Longbenton: Unity in the Community @ Sunderland Minster. From 1:30pm. Free. A multi-bill Unity in the Community event, inc. From Lagos to Longbenton.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio w. Graham Hardy.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 22: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 23: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 23: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

The Jazz Baroness - BBC4

The long awaited documentary on the relationship between Monk and the Baroness Pannonica de Koengiswarter (nee Rothschild) provided fascinating viewing yet, at the end of the day, are we any the wiser? We know a little more about the lady, a little less about Mrs Monk, the shadowy figure of Nellie who seemingly accepted her husband's relationship with the Baroness. Was it as purely platonic as has been suggested? These are questions that will probably be never answered and, in my opinion, not important. What is important is the patronage she gave to Monk and other musicians without which a lot of great music may have never been created. We could do with someone like her today - particulary on Tyneside. Lance. PS: I've yet to watch the Jazz 625 Monk and Blakey programmes. Tonight there's Bird, Trane and Chet. Why can't they spread it out? You can get too much of a good thing.
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3 comments :

Liz said...

I really enjoyed that programme, she fascinated me, such an unlikely mix - the Baroness & Monk - and yet, didn't it come over time & time again how loved & respected she was with the musicians? and I don't think it was just her money.. I thought Helen Mirren did a good job as the voice of the Baroness, she got that cut glass accent just right eg."Orf" instead of "off." Loved Monk's "Loverman (oh where can you be)"

Saturday, April 18, 2009 7:28:00 pm
Lance said...

I loved the comment by Chico Hamilton. "The only choice for me was to be either a Pimp or a Musician."
He compromised and became a drummer!

Saturday, April 18, 2009 8:03:00 pm
John T said...

Its a bit like jazz festivals and buses- too many at once and can you afford them. I now have a bus pass and I see its £70 for Whitley Bay Jazz Fest this year.There is a bus from Ashington to the Village hotel area - I think. You can easily get jazzed out so two concerts a month is about right for me. No more free bus pass trips to the town for the Monday lunchtime sessions though.


The Jazz Baroness programme was really enthralling. This was the first programme about Monk I had ever seen and I did not realise he had such a varied pad to his name. All numbers I have grown to like over the years, having started as a traddie. After watching this I feel I now have a very personal relationship with Monk's story. I had a bad period of depression about 15 years ago and went through the electro therapy treatment, which was just coming back into fashion then. It alone helped me turn my life around.The only after effect for me was that I became even more addicted to jazz!!

Sunday, April 19, 2009 1:12:00 pm

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