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 24: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 24: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 25: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 25: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Forgotten Ones & Any Quintets.
Thu 25: Edgar Ho Trio @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free. Brilliant alto sax, piano & double bass trio. Unmissable!
Thu 25: 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 26: Finn-Keeble Group @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £9:00.
Fri 26: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 26: Clark Tracey @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Newcastle Jazz Festival. £26.00. Day 1/2.

Sat 27: OUTRI @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £13.01. 1:00-1:45pm. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Richardson & Westgarth Sport & Social Club, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal. Note change of venue.
Sat 27: House of the Black Gardenia + Magpies of Swing @ The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sat 27: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 2:15-3:15pm. £13.01. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 3:45-4:45pm. £13.01. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Rory Ingham @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 5:30-6:30pm. £19.51. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2. Ingham w. Dean Stockdale, Ian Paterson, Dave McKeague.
Sat 27: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 27: Laura Jurd @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £26.00. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2. Sat 27: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary’s Church, Wooler. 3:00pm. £18.00., £6.00. A Wooler Arts Summer Concerts event. Tim Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: An Evening of Jazz @ St James’ Church, Copper Chare, Morpeth. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 from 01670 788869 or 01670 519923. Mid Northumberland Chorus (MD Robin Forbes, Emma Straughan, piano) w. jazz trio featuring Edgar Ho, Oscar Ho & Dave McKeague & special guest Emily Masser. Performance inc. Bob Chilcott’s A Little Jazz Mass + George Shearing’s Songs & Sonnets.
Sun 28: Led Bib @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £15.00., £12.00. JNE.

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Remembering Chris - Corner House, Newcastle

Alan Glen (pno), John Pope (bs), David Carnegie (dms). It was just on 1:00pm when Alan went into Love For Sale and already the room was close to capacity. How Deep Is The Ocean followed by, as one has come to expect from Alan, a further selection of choice tunes. An immaculate set by the swingiest, boppiest trio around. This was worth the entry on its own.
If you missed them or want to here them again they play the Chilli on Chillingham Road, Heaton, next Wednesday (July28).
Paul Edis (pno), Graham Hardy (tpt/flg), Graeme Wilson (ten), Chris Hibbard (tmb), Mick Shoulder (bs), Adam Sinclair (dms). It took a sextet to follow the previous trio! Led by another piano ace, Paul Edis, who also doubled as sound engineer, the group opened up with a rather moody, but harmonically strong, original; Dorian Gray, followed by a beautifully charted In A Sentimental Mood before rocking out on Angular. A well contrasted set with impressive solos all-round. Graham Hardy blew his socks off - clearly not over-awed by the act to follow.
Steve Waterman (tpt/flg), Roly Veitch (gtr), Neil Harland (bs), Adam Sinclair (dms). From the opening Stella By Starlight the now standing room only bar knew Steve was playing for keeps. He had moments of Freddy Hubbard on Invitation and screamed in the upper on Line For Lyons sounding nothing like Chet although Steve and Roly did indulge in some Mulligan Quartet type interplay. Roly's clean-cut solos the perfect foil for Steve's virtuosity. A memorable gem.
Alan Barnes (alt), Graeme Wilson (ten), Graham Hardy (tpt/flg), Paul Edis (pno), Mick Shoulder (bs), David Carnegie (dms). By this time the walls were bursting at the seams as the audience numbers continued to grow. Chris Yates couldn't have had a finer tribute paid to him than by the quality of the music or by the turn out. It's You Or No One kicked from bar one with Alan Barnes unleashing soul-searing choruses and both Graham and Graeme staying with him. The final Blues Walk raised the bar even higher.
Graeme Wilson (ten), Roly Veitch (gtr), Neil Harland (bs), Scotty Adair (dms). Where will it end? Just so much good music surely this is the gig of the decade.
Roly puts in the polished performance we have come to expect from him with Graeme blowing nice smooth middle period tenor - can this be the same guy who sometimes singes the rooftops?
We don't often see Scotty on a jazz gig these days but he's still got it - he still swings.
Tim Garland (ten/sop), Andy Champion (bs), Adrian Tilbrook (dms). Suddenly we're in a different game. Tim Garland went snarling into Killer Joe and battered KJ into submission. It was an awesome performance - even Chris may have struggled to find the right adjective for this one - backed up to the hilt by Andy and Adrian who handled everything Tim, who was hot this afternoon, slung at them. Throughout the set castles crumbled, Gibralter tumbled but these boys were here to stay for the final set where they were thrown back into the fray reinforced by Paul Edis (pno), Alan Barnes (alt), Steve Waterman (tpt).
This was the finale to end all finales. Blasting off on What Is This Thing Called Love, they really went for the jugular on the final Anthropology. This was Jazz At The Phil revisited. A million choruses by Alan Barnes on alto, a trip to Mars and beyond by Steve and a kickass tenor surge by Tim - this guy should be walkin' the bar in New Orleans he can blow that kind of tenor.
Naturally the crowd ovated standing so the boys gave us How Deep Is The Ocean which brought us the full circle from Alan Glen's opening set.
What a gig! I'm still up where the air is rarefied and all these guys gave of their services free - such was the respect the late Chris Yates was held in.
Lance.
PS: Pam Young photos to follow.

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