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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 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

April

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion.
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm.
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Customs House Big Band with Ruth Lambert @ Blaydon Jazz Club. March 10th.

Jill Brett, George Robinson, Alan Marshall, Tom Quillan, Chris Kaberry(saxes); Gareth Weaver, Chris Gurgi-Smith, Michael Fletcher Peter Morgan (tmb; Paul Riley-Gledhill, Kevin Eland, Ken DeVere, Bob Temple(tpts); Bill Brittain (pno); Alan Smith (bs); Roy Willis (gtr);David Francis (dms); Ruth Lambert (vcls).
In these difficult economic times Blaydon Jazz Club pushed the boat out to present the eighteen piece Customs House Big Band. The club's regulars turned out to hear a cracking band led by genial MD Peter Morgan.
The band opened with Love For Sale with Jill Brett playing some sensuous alto and Alan Marshall prominent on tenor. Simon and Garfunkel's Keep the Customers Satisfied worked, perhaps against expectations, with Brett featured once again. The award winning vocalist Ruth Lambert strolled onto stage to sing the first two of several numbers - Time After Time (Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne) and Come Fly With Me. Lambert respects the lyric yet, as with the all great singers, she interprets the material with a highly developed jazz sensibility.
All big bands should have a powerhouse trumpet player and the Customs House band is no different; up stepped Kevin Eland for a blast on Maynard Ferguson's Gravy Waltz having heard Tom Quillan set the pace with a brisk workout on tenor. The band's ensemble playing was better than ever and was heard to great effect on I Love Paris. Ms.Lambert returned to the stand to serve some Black Coffee and stayed around to sing I've Got the World on a String.
A Gordon Goodwin chart - High Maintenance - exercised the chops of all (Gurgi-Smith and Marshall featured), Cole Porter's It's All Right With Me and Woody's Woodchopper's Ball (George Robinson on clarinet) closed out the first set. MD Morgan announced that the band would beat everyone to the bar. Well, not quite everyone...
Refreshed, the second set opened with Witchcraft and the spell was cast with first class ensemble work with altoist Brett featured once more. An unfamiliar tune to this reviewer was Semi-Mental Journey by Los Angeles based composer Jim Martin. The title alone made this one a winner. It is, of course, based on the changes of Sentimental Journey. Gurgi-Smith, Quillan and Brett took the spotlight. The band breezed through Sweet Georgia Brown before vocalist Lambert returned once more for perhaps the highlight of the evening. At Last, with great tenor from Marshall, was a knock 'em dead performance from one of the finest singers in the land. The ensemble playing on In a Mellow Tone (full marks to the rhythm section of Bill Brittain & co.) was text book stuff and Lambert sang My Funny Valentine with excellent use of brushes by drummer David Francis.
One number after another, this was a winning performance by the Customs House Big Band. The jazz police loved every minute of it and they loved The Jazz Police by Gordon Goodwin! Time to go, but not before a rousing encore by the band and Ruth Lambert declaring Alright, Okay, You Win.
The band's next engagement is a two-nighter back at HQ (South Shields' Customs House). March 31st & April !st are the dates for your diary.
Blaydon Jazz Club's next concert features the impeccable Roy Williams with the Blaydon Jazz Quartet on April 14th. Please note that this one starts earlier than usual at 8:15 pm. There will be a buffet, raffle and maybe some Christmas crackers as Williams' scheduled appearance in December was cancelled due to the blizzard-like conditions in the north east. Get there early, it could be standing room only.
Russell.
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