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

18982 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 846 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 8.) 25.

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.

Fri 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Feat. guest Jack ‘Banjo’ Courtney (trumpet).
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Harry Christelis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Jazz Co-op-JNE co-promotion.

Mon 12: Jack Pearce Quintet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 12: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Julija Jacenaite (vocals).

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).

Monday, March 28, 2011

Splinter @ The Gateshead International Jazz Festival

The annual Splinter showcase (a Jazz Action initiative) in the Northen Rock Foundation Hall featured four of the region's most accomplished ensembles.
Saxophonics - Graeme Wilson (tenor), Niall Armstrong (baritone), Steve Summers (alto) & Keith Robinson (alto & sporano) - are the north east's answer to the 29th Street Saxophone Quartet. The quartet presented some new material including Niall Armstrong's Mice Heaven written in 14/8 recalling the work of Don Ellis and a Graeme Wilson piece in honour of the 29th Street band. Mike Mower's tune Hiatus was given an outing as was Wilson's Stranded at the Wine Bar. This was an excellent opening set to the afternoon.
The Zoe Gilby Quintet opened with Midnight Bell (a song about the Midnight Bell pub on Euston Road, London, which in turn took its name from Patrick Hamilton's novel of 1929). Charles Mingus' Dry Cleaner From Des Moines with lyrics by Joni Mitchell, Pink Floyd's Money (a duo performance by Gilby and bassist Andy Champion) and Centrepiece were but some of the winning tunes from yet another top-class set by Gilby's band (Mark Williams -guitar, Noel Dennis - trumpet/flugehorn, Richard Brown - drums and Champion).
Tenor saxophonist Claude Werner followed and had it all to do. Double bass player Lawrence Blackadder and guitarist Lloyd Wright provided a solid platform for Werner to cut loose and new recruit, drummer John Hirst, played magnificently from the off. Werner can blow and blow and he did just that. A torrent of ideas poured forth on original numbers including Sitting in the Sun and the ever playful Kids. Werner garners accolades each time he plays a gig and this performance was no different. A number of people in the hall heard the Chilean for the first time and were mucho impressed. Will he ever receive a bad review? Not on this form he won't!
Closing Splinter's afternoon of jazz was Nick Pride and the Pimptones.  This is a class outfit. Snappy tunes, snappy dressers, one of the band's tunes - Midnight Feast of Jazz - got it just about right...a feast sure enough although not quite the witching hour!
 Russell.
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