Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: 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 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Sat 11: Spanish City Rollers @ Community Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival, Front Street, Tynemouth. 12 noon. Free.
Sat 11: Jazz Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival (o/s Tynemouth Priory), Tynemouth. Free. Vieux Carré Hot 4 (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Castillo Nuevo Trio (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Day 1/2.
Sat 11: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man + Adam Millington @ St John’s Chapel, Town Hall, Weardale DL13 1QF. 5:00pm (doors). £16.26., £10.84., £8.67., £5.42 (under 18).
Sat 11: Milne Glendinning Band @ Langley Tracks, Langley-on-Tyne. 5:30pm.
Sat 11: Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:30pm.
Sat 11: Karberry Big Band @ Forest Hall Social Club. 7:00pm. £7.00.
Sat 11: Ray Quinn: The King of Swing @ The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Farewell Blues for Jazz @ The Exchange

Hi Lance: this month's concert at the Saville Exchange will be the last in the series. After eight years of trying to present outstanding jazz musicians from Europe, the UK and the USA, a number of factors have made me decide to call it a day as far as this really nice venue is concerned. Hire costs are set to rise by around 25% as North Tyneside Council struggle to balance their books, there's no Arts Council grant any more, audiences have declined and with the impact of the dread "cuts" yet to be felt, the future looks no rosier.
Our reserves vanished when the Whitley Bay Playhouse went into receivership a few years ago, owing us £3,400 in box office receipts, so we have no cash cushion to fall back on. The alternative would be to cut right back on costs by virtually eliminating overseas outfits or the professional UK bands (Keith Nichols' Blue Devils, for instance), but I'm really not interested in putting on music that duplicates what fans can already hear in their local pubs and clubs for a lot less than I have to charge - just to cover room hire and PRs amounts to around £330 for an evening, before I can even think of paying the band.
So, the Friday 10th December concert will be my last at the Saville Exchange, and I hope we will have a really good turnout to ensure that Jazz @ The Exchange goes out with a bang, not a whimper; with three top local bands in one evening (Vieux Carré, West Jesmond Rhythm Kings, Rae Brothers) all at our normal admission price, it's certainly good value for money!
On a more positive note, I shall be continuing to book bands for the monthly Trinity Jazz programme in Gosforth, and am also in discussions with the Customs House regarding a monthly traditional/mainstream jazz series in 2011, following the successful experiment there with six jazz concerts in the last year; what's more, the Classic jazz party is all set for November 4th-6th 2011 at the Village Hotel - our revamped website http://www.whitleybayjazzfest.org/ goes online this weekend.
Mike Durham.

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