Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise 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

18878 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 742 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 4.) 21.

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

September.

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: 58 Jazz Collective @ Hartlepool Cricket Club. 7:30pm. £7.00.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE. Excellent trio.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Jacenaite All Crew @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 10: Emma Rawicz INKYRA @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.30. Sage Two. Line-up: Emma Rawicz (sax); Scottie Thompson (piano, keyboards, synth); David Preston (guitar); Kevin Glasgow (bass guitar); Jack Thomas (drums).

Fri 11: Esther Bennett @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £10.00. Esther Bennett (vocals); Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass).
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £14.09 (inc. bf).

Sat 12: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 12: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £16.26 (inc. bf).

Sun 13: 58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00-3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: King Bees @ Shape Patisserie, Darlington. 3:00pm. Free. Duo (Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor). A Rhythm & Blues Fringe event. Blues excellence.
Sun 13: Alligator Gumbo @ The Cluny. 5:00pm. £17.15.; £11.43; £5.72.
Sun 13: Eternal Triangle + Andy Champion @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 14: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Bobby McFerrin @ The Sage, Gateshead. Saturday Jan 16.

A very enjoyable concert - 90 minutes uninterupted - 1 man, 1 stage and 1 mic with which he did a whole lot with!
Plenty of audience participation made it feel more like an interactive masterclass than a gig.
After singing/beatboxing "Sweet Home Chicago" - which was amazing - he asked if anyone would like to get up and dance so he could interpret their dancing through the medum of the voice. Two young ladies stepped up to the plate - one like a free form ballerina and another who could really groove. A gent also strutted his stuff.
This concert was really for singers though - Bobby asked for 12 people to come on stage and form a choir. It ended up with about 50 who were conducted through some impromptu vocal gymnastics. Later on, he also dueted with a guy from the crowd who had brought with him an interesting instrument shaped like a flying saucer (a 'hang' drum) which sounded out of this world! A beatboxing fella also took to the stage - he was so good he even surprised Bobby!
The audience were then asked to sing "Ave Maria" over top of the Bach Prelude no.1 that Bobby was singing. You could tell there were many accomplished singers as not only did they know the melody of Ave Maria but it sounded really beautiful (search for 'Bobby McFerrin Ave Maria' on YouTube). His tip to singers in the audience was to learn some Bach preludes as it improves your intonation.
Some notable songs he did was an original, 'Drive my car', and an excellent interpretation of 'Blackbird' by the Beatles. He finished with a condensed version of the 'Wizard of Oz' - difficult to describe, got see it to believe it.
My only disappointment was that he never sang "Thinkin' About Your Body" when requested - instead, for an encore he sang "My Favourite Things" and the night ended with a standing ovation.
Bobby dazzled and excited throughout. I recommend anyone to catch him during this tour which has just started.
Chris Finch.
at

1 comment :

Pedro I. said...

Nice to read your impressions. I was there as well, and it was incredible to me because I've ended up doing the first vocal improvisation with him!

So I'm super-happy. Just wondering if anyone could record anything! Cheers man, bye

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 2:27:00 pm

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