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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 2025).

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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Parish Hall, St Barnabas’ Church, Rowlands Gill. 7:30pm. £10.00. BYOB (tea & coffee available), raffle. Proceeds to St Barnabas’ Church. Performance feat. Shayo (vocals).
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

Saturday, June 13, 2009

2+2= Infinity. Bridge Hotel, Newcastle.

Andy Champion (double bass), Graeme Wilson (baritone & tenor saxophone), Paul Hession (drums), Mike Hurley (keyboards). Jazz North East's second season of gigs presenting the best of free jazz and improvisation concluded with a meeting of two duos; Tyneside's own Andy Champion and honourary Geordie Graeme Wilson (hailing from north of the border) and free jazz percussion wizard Paul Hession (no stranger to Newcastle) and midlands based keyboards player Mike Hurley. The ''local boys'', Champion and Wilson, got things under way, displaying no little confidence with their illustrious counterparts listening intently at the bar. Wilson possesses a cast iron technique on baritone and, most impressively, searches for a figure, a rhythm, a texture at a slow tempo which, in less capable hands, could expose a paucity of ideas and invention. Champion, the first - call bassist on the north east jazz scene, enjoys a musical rapport with Wilson which has, no doubt, come about from their countless gigs together in other ensembles across the region. The bassist used the bow and mallets in response to Wilson's probings and offered the added dimension of loop pedal effects (used sparingly on this gig). West Coast cool is the image Wilson projects, yet, in full flow, he can produce an incendiary performance (more of which later). The second set featured Hession and Hurley. Hession is in the top division of UK free jazz drummers (Mark Sanders, Steve Noble, Tony Marsh et al). Hession guarantees a performance; from himself and those sharing the stand. Mike Hurley is a new name to most on Tyneside. A duo of drums and keyboards begged the question - would it work ? Hurley revealed a debt to Debussy allied to a Keith Tippett - like attack with a bottom end hammering recalling Cecil Taylor. In full flow the duo captured the thrilling essence of the music; sometimes fleeting, shifting, lost in the ether. The set took an unexpected turn - Hurley had exhausted the keyboard; battered into submission it was retired for the evening. Hurley's work done it was down to Hession to deliver a drum masterclass to conclude the set. The third set, scheduled to be a quartet, was played as a trio. Hession's encouraging, urgent performance offered the (unexpected) opportunity to Champion and Wilson to stretch - out and deliver a blistering set. This was free jazz at its best. The third season of Jazz North East's ''On the Outside'' gigs is almost upon us. The Side Cafe on Friday 3rd July sees Tom - Mix riding into town. See you there (stetson optional). Russell

1 comment :

Lance said...

Does the "Society for The Prevention Of Cruelty To Pianos" know about this guy?
If the piano was an animal he'd be fined and banned for life.

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