Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat 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

19,000 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 864 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 14) 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

October.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 4:45pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: NW FRQNC @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. Selina Albright, Gianni Vancini.
Wed 14: Jacob Egglestone Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 15: Leah Kirk: A Strange Affair @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Leah Kirk (vocals); Alan Law (keyboards); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Thu 15: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. PJO w. guest Graham Hardy (trumpet).

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Ancient Infinity Orchestra @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 16: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01. adv.; £15.00. on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Repas 7 by Night, West St., Berwick. 8:00pm. Free.

Sat 17: SunOrbitUs @ Culture House, Sunderland. 11:00am - 5:00pm. Closing event in a year-long piece of music. 11:00am-1:00pm Improvisation workshop w. Faye MacCalman; 2:00-5:00pm Collective Improvised Performance by Sunderland residents. SOLD OUT!
Sat 17: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 17: Martin Taylor @ Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £48.72; £43.37. Solo guitar. SOLD OUT!

Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Jump jive.
Sun 18: Guisborough Big Band @ Redcar Rugby Club. 5:00-8:00pm. ‘Charity Big Band Birthday Bash’ in aid of Parkinson’s UK & Young Sounds UK. Free (donations on the door).
Sun 18: Martin Taylor @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £23.30. Solo guitar.
Sun 18: Ben Crosland Quartet with Steve Waterman @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Sue Ferris Quintet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Pete Tanton (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Tue 20: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Head, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Tickets from Tully’s, Rothbury. Coquetdale Jazz. Note change of venue.
Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Scotty Adair.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Thank you Colin.

Regular site visitors will note my frequent reference to Ned Kelly's Last Stand - the jazz fun pub in Kowloon, Hong Kong. I've never been there but it sounds like a place I should have been - add it to the list that includes Shelly's Manne Hole, Earthquake McGoons, The Famous Door, Birdland, Kelly's Stables and the pre-Beatles Cavern.
Well Colin and I go back a long way - his father, Hughie Aitchison - the greatest authority on Ellington (Duke) that I ever met - and I worked together for many years in a well known Newcastle music shop (J.G. Windows).
Colin and I were in the Newcastle Big Band together and I have followed his career with interest ever since. He's been leading the China Coast Jazzmen at Ned Kelly's for quite a time - often alongside such illustrious sitters-in as Bob Wilber (see photo) and Pug Horton. All this leads up to the package that came through the letter-box yesterday.
A Ned Kelly's Tee Shirt and a CD of the band playing live.
The Tee Shirt is great - expect to see me wearing it around the gigs until I'm told to get it laundered! The CD gives a first hand impression of a typical night at 'Neds'. Small band swing (Opus One; Jersey Bounce; Sing, Sing, Sing) and Dixieland (Bill Bailey; High Society; Basin Street etc).
It's not music to lend a critical ear to it's music to tap your feet to, have a laugh and a smile and, after a few beers, a sing-a-long.
Thank you Colin. Lance. PS: Roy Willis reminded me of this YouTube clip , with brief introduction from the late Chris Yates, that Colin posted of Red Rodney blowing Days of Wine and Roses at the Corner House, Newcastle back in 1985.
at

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Hi Lance,

Glad to hear the parcel arrived and that the CD did get a smile, yes it's Neds, did think about re-doing some of it, as you no doubt did notice, I do sing the wrong words on Basin St, and a few mistakes here and there from the guys, but at the end of the day it is what it is, a live recording at Ned Kelly's, and everyone I spoke to, did not want a studio recording, just something to remind them of happy times and Hong Kong, and it's selling like hot cakes, but once again many thanks for the all the write up's on Ned Kelly's and my visits back to Newcastle, hope to catch up for a pint the next time...
Colin Aitchison
Hong Kong

Monday, November 22, 2010 2:10:00 am

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