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.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Gig of the Year - The story so far....

... Joshua Redman Trio/Guy Barker Orch @ The Sage. (Chris Yates) Sheila Jordan @ The Sage (Evening perf.) (Roly Veitch, Hil Gil & Alan Rudd). Sheila Jordan @ The Sage (afternoon perf.) (Chris Finch & Jim McDowell). Norma Winstone @ The Sage. (Debra Milne). Alan Glen Trio @ The Chilli (local) (Chris Finch & Harley Johnson) Music of Duke Ellington + Billy Strayhorn (featuring Northern Sinfonia, Guy Barker Jazz Orchestra and Tim Garland) (Jim McDowell & Harley Johnson) Julian Arguelles Trio + John Abercrombie @ The Sage. (Harley Johnson). Chicago South Side session with Matthias Seuffert (Germany) and René Hagmann (Switzerland) at Whitley Bay International Jazz Festival. (Mike Durham) Virtuoso Jazz Trio @ Ashington Jazz Club. (John Taylor) Vasilis Xenopoulos @ Blaydon Jazz Club. (local) (Derek Cogger) Vasilis Xenopoulos @ Cherry Tree Restaurant. (Peter). Sonny Rollins @ The Barbican (Derek Cogger & Ron Ainsborough). Laurie Holloway Trio @ Leeds College of Music. (Liz). Ryan Quigley Sextet - Scarborough Jazz Festival. (Lance, Eric Stutt & Mike Gibson) Tomasz Stanko @ The Sage. (Fred Grand). Any Brian Bennett gig (Barry Aitchison). Any Clare Teal gig. (Sue Vickers-Thompson). Duology @ The Bridge. (Russell). Zoe Gilby & Andy Champion @ Blaydon Jazz Club (Hil., Roly) Jon Taylor @ Blaydon Jazz Club. (Eddie Carson). Budvivar @ The Chilli. (Allan). Gilad Azmon @ The Sage. (Toots) Mark Williams Trio @ The Bridge Jazzathon. (Robert Laing). Send us your choice asap. Lance.

19 comments :

John Taylor said...

Not been to many away gigs this year so I'm torn between "X" last week at Blaydon and Virtuoso Jazz at the Elephant. my vote goes to the Virtuoso Jazz trio at the Elephant.

Mike Durham said...

Hi Lance - the Chicago South Side session with Matthias Seuffert (Germany) and René Hagmann (Switzerland) at Whitley Bay International Jazz Festival last July: "Hotter Than That", as Louis would have said......

Mike.

Derek Cogger said...

Not sure whether choice has to be local, if it is my choice would be Vasilis Xenopoulos at Blaydon Jazz Thursday November 12th; if not then without doubt it would have to be Sonny Rollins at The Barbican Saturday 14th November. It was worth the hassle!

Liz said...

Laurie Holloway Trio. Call it a generation thing but it was a privilege & an honour to experience this man in his 7th decade having, throughout his long career accompanied the glitterazzi of show biz & the very best of artists. His lovely mellifluous tones just don't get any better than this, but also his accompanist bass & drums were quite wonderful, also importantly you never had that cringing feeling that here was a man who was perhaps past his best..he is as good as ever.
Liz.

Fred Grand said...

Lots of great stuff to choose from this year, but I'd have to go for the most recent - Tomasz Stanko.
I almost plumped for Eric Boeren's group at The Side in February, but really only because Paul Lovens was so great playing jazz instead of improv!! Stanko had it all and satisfied me on every level. Just got round to writing it up on Afric Pepperbird by the way, but I appreciate your own review and can understand why it may not have appealed.
Fred

Barry Aitchison (via Facebook) said...

All of Brian Bennett's jazz is the best all round.

Sue Vickers-Thompson (via Facebook) said...

No, anything of Clare Teal's! We missed the event of the year, which was the live recording of her latest album, because of the snow but the album is great!

Jim McDowell said...

1 Music of Ellington/Strayhorn with the Northern Sinfonia
and the Guy Barker Jazz Orchestra @ The Sage.

2 Sheila Jordan in the afternoon @ The Sage with Brian Kellog

(Jim McDowell)

Eric Stutt said...

Has to be Ryan Quigley Sextet at Scarborough Jazz Fest.
Eric

Peter said...

I would have to vote for the Vasy -Paul Edis trio gig at the Cherry Tree restaurant on Friday 13th November. For me the music, the food, the buzz and the company I kept all contributed to a great gig.

Debra said...

Can't remember the exact date (?sometime in May & can't find it on the net, but Lance will know), but I really enjoyed Norma Winstone at The Sage.

Russell said...

Hi Lance

So many good gigs this year, so difficult to choose. A long list whittled down to a short list of three. Matana Roberts @ Live Theatre (April), Tony Kofi with Paul Edis Trio @ Highfield Hotel (May) and Duology @ Bridge Hotel (November). The winner is...Duology, not because it is fresh in the memory, just because...

Russell

Alan Rudd said...

From the band's point of view the gig we did at Ashington Jazz Club with Bob Ludlam was perhaps the pick of the bunch, although we still have a gig to play at Gateshead Fell with John Crocker on 18th December. We did the same gig last year with John Crocker for the Xmas party at the Fell, we had Ray Harley on guesting on trumpet that night, and it was a fabulous night. That was definately our gig of last year.

As regards other peoples gigs, the only one that comes to mind is a gig we went to earlier in the year at the Sage, The evening session with Sheila Jordan & the Brian Kellock trio, we really enjoyed that one!(Although I'm not sure if will rank alongside Any gig by Brian Bennett! - I find have difficulty in taking the banjo seriously since someone informed me that the accepted definition of Perfect Pitch is the ability to throw a banjo into a skip from 20 yards without it touching the sides! )

Hil said...

Sheila Jordan & Brian Kellock @ The Sage

+

(I know some folks will say I am biased)
Zoe Gilby & Andy Champion duo @ Blaydon Jazz Club took some beating as far as I am concerned.

Toots of Jesmond Vale said...

It has to be Gilad Atzmon's concert at The Sage.

S.Cowell said...

"You guys have no taste. The gig of the year will undoubtedly be
the Jools Holland concert next week at the City Hall with special
star guest Brian Bennett on banjo!" Simon.

Bill Montgomery said...

Sorry Simon but Gig of the Year nominations can't be made in advance of the concert. We don't yet know if Jools can meet Mr Bennett's fee. I did hear that there was talk of raffling a CD and a bottle of plomk in the interval to go towards it.
Bill Montgomery.

Jools said...

The bottle of plonk IS Mr Bennett's fee.

Mike Gibson said...

Lance.
I would agree with you and pick Ryan Quigley particularly as it was a band that had not previously toured prior to receiving the Jazz Services Promoters' Choice award.
Best wishes
Mike
Mike Gordon
Scarborough Jazz Festival Director
Scarborough Jazz @ The Cask Promoter

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