Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18383 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 247 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 17 ), 57

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

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

MO SCOTT GIG TAKE 2 – A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Well, Lindsay told us at the Sage jazz-singing class to listen to as many other singers as possible, so I took myself off to the Maggie Bank on Sunday for a lesson from Mo, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, with drinks thrown in for good measure.
I loved Mo’s heartfelt version of God Bless the Child and her exciting Fever. Mo’s blues singing is superb as well, and I liked what she did with Hound Dog, much more interesting than the mundane Elvis version. Not quite sure I agree with Lance about Mo being a bit of a rock chick. She’s more interesting than that, but I know what he’s getting at. (Doesn’t pay to disagree with the blogmaster!)
I was advised to watch how she moved. New Jazz singers have been accused of fussy nervous movements onstage. Mo moves a lot but looks really cool whilst doing so. She constantly takes the mike from the stand and moves the stand around between songs. She uses wonderfully expressive hand movements to illustrate the lyrics, and reacts skilfully to the instrumental bits. She also introduces songs briefly with a minimum of fuss. Perhaps in 10 years time I’ll also look something like this on stage, perhaps...
During the break I asked Mo how she got started with her singing. She said simply ‘You sing the music that you love’. No-one could have expressed it better.
Ann ALex.

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