Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion.
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: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm.
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A Grand Night for Stinging

The long awaited Sting @ Durham Cathedral was interesting and at times quite fascinating. It is debatable if there was any jazz content apart from the cameo, non-playing appearance by his former associates from 30 plus years ago (see photo on previous post) but that didn't detract from the music which was distinctly folk-based and Northern folk at that.
For me the outstanding moments were the fiddling duels between Kathryn Tickell and her fellow fiddler whose name I didn't catch - surprise! surprise! none of the musicians were named in the credits, perhaps THAT was the jazz influence.
Sting came across as a warmer person than he sometimes does which I am sure stemmed from his return to once familiar settings but I felt his voice deserved better than a lot of the material to hand.
Still, to his credit, it's the first hour-long TV program I've stuck with until the end for many a long day. That was something the Quentin Crisp program the night previous failed to achieve!
Lance.

5 comments :

John T said...

I missed the first half of the prog last night. Some of your bloggers might like to see it on:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00pl1cf/Stings_Winter_Songbook/
My analogy is that Sting is a bit like Superman
Not a bird, not a plane - its Superman
Not Jazz, not Folk - its Sting

Liz said...

hmm.. it didn't do much for me Lance, but then it wasn't my kinda music. I also think his voice wasn't adaptable to that sort of material. I thought his visits to his roots also his meeting with his past buddies just lent fodder to the programme. Having said all that I have always liked Sting, but somehow this didn't float my boat! I agree about the Quentin Crisp prog, I switched it off halfway through!
Liz

Lance said...

Well Liz I can see where you are coming from however, for those of us who were on the scene at the time, the visits to the roots were more than mere 'fodder'. How well I remember that room in the Gosforth Hotel (not to be confused with the Gosforth Park Hotel - chalk and cheese springs to mind) and the memories it brought back.
As regards the music in the cathedral, not entirely my tastes either but once it got into its stride I found it compelling and as stated in my review, not least because of Kathryn Tickell.
It was an ambitious undertaking but, personally, I think it worked.

Liz said...

When I said fodder Lance it was merely an observation. It was in no way meant to lessen the impact of those early heady days. As a matter of fact those were the bits I enjoyed most, but to me they seemed almost like "fill ins" for the Cathedral stuff, when in actual fact they were a story, and a worthwhile story at that, in themselves
Liz

Lance said...

Couldn't agree more - it would be a worthwhile project and I seem to recall just such an idea being mooted some years ago but I don't think it ever quite took off. Maybe sometime...

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