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

18429 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 293 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 13 ) 27,

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 15: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 15: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 15: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 16: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Jewish Musicians/Composers/Vocalists.
Thu 16: Sleep Suppressor + Silk Road + So Anne So @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £10.00., £8.00., £6.00.
Thu 16: Fourpenny Rabbits @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Fri 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 17: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 17: Ben Crosland Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £12.96 (inc. bf) online; £15.00 on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.

Sat 18: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. £12.00. Swing dance sessions + Bright Street Big Band 7:30-8:15pm & 8:45-9:30pm.
Sat 18: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm. £27.00 (inc. bf).

Sun 19: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Trio + Lara Hopper.
Sun 19: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 19: Straight to Tape @ The Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Edd Carr, Jonathan Proud, John Hirst. Blues trio.
Sun 19: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00.

Mon 20: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 20: Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Tue 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval NE25 0AT. Tel: 0191 237 3697. Tickets: £14.00. ‘Pie & Pea Lunch’.
Tue 21: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £29.00., £26.00., £23.00.
Tue 21: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Jack Littlewood (drums).

Friday, July 09, 2010

Whitley Bay International Jazz Festival Day One - Evening

Hot Antic Jazz Band (France)
Bohém Ragtime Jazz Band (Hungary)
Bent Persson's New York Orchestra (International)
Les Roi du Fox-Trot (pictured - France)
That this festival should be in its final year is really sad. 150 musicians from 10 countries is not bad going for an event held in a hotel on an industrial estate in Shiremoor. Add 500 plus punters from all over the world and the enormity of it begins to sink in.
The fact that many of the names meant little to me means nothing - if anything it added to the oft quoted 'Sound of Surprise'.
This was never more evident than the delights I found myself discovering in the Hungarian Bohém Ragtime Jazz band. This is a band comprising of 2 violinists one of whom, apart from being the leader, Tamas Ittzés, also sings and plays piano. Tamas sung and swung on piano and vocalised like Buddy Greco on Don't Get Around Much Any More. Trumpet player Lebanov József played with drive and technique whilst trombonist, Korb Atilla, had a lovely smooth Teagarden, Urbie Green sound - he was okay on flugel and cornet too!
Space precludes elaboration; suffice to say their versatility on different instruments, singing, dancing and comedy bordering on slapstick, made this the most entertaining set of the night.
Musically, what I most wanted to catch was Bent Persson's Red Allen Tribute. Well I did but, after dalliance, I was a latecomer and only just squeezed in behind an ever opening door.
Despite the brilliant resuscitation of the Allen/Luis Russell classics - and they were superb - I left Kelly's Stables for the more spatial Cotton Club. That's right all four jazz rooms are named after famous venues from days of yore - the others being the Sunset Café and the One-Cent Club.
In the Cotton Club Les Rois du Fox-Trot were strutting their stuff and drawing a few couples to the dance floor.
Another full house and another good band whose infectious pre-swing style soon had a hold of the listeners and the dancers.
Earlier, The Hot Antic Jazz Band had opened the evening session in Kelly's with an entertaining set that was full of Gallic charm. I loved the way they handled My Gal Sal - 3/4 introduction, rhapsodic verse then stomping chorus and idiomatic solos.
Too soon it was time for me to leave and fathom out my route home which I did - eventually!
Lance
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