Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
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.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
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: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

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

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

CD Review: Soul Rebels Brass Band - Unlock Your Mind.

Erion Williams (saxophone); Paul Robertson, Corey Payton (trombone); Julian Gosin, Marcus Hubbard (trumpet); Edward Lee JR (sousaphone); Derrick Moss(bass drum); Lumar Leblanc (snare drum).
If you caught the Soul Rebels at The Sage, or elsewhere on their recent tour, you will know what to expect from this CD. If this is your first time of hearing their funky sounds then make sure you have your dancing shoes on. Prepare some Jambalaya and a Crawfish Pie - maybe a Fillet Gumbo, fill up a jug with Louisiana Liquor and invite the neighbours round because, from the opening bars of 504, you're gonna want to party!
It's that kind of disc.
If there are any typos it's because my fingers are doing the Funky Chicken as I type.
Funk and soul and rock'n'roll, jazz and blues and hip-hop too.
It's happy music that was born out of tragedy. After Katrina hit New Orleans the Soul Rebels came together with renewed purpose. "Music has been the number one vehicle for Katrina recovery" said Lumar Leblanc, and since then the band has served as an international ambassador of the current New Orleans sound.
The vocals are shared round both solowise and collectively and there are some pithy solos from the horns that would do credit to any pure jazz album.
But forget about genre - just enjoy! - and you can do that for free by visiting their website - www.soulrebelsbrassband.com/sweetdreamsEP  and downloading an EP containing 3 of the tracks from the album
Lance.
Soul Rebels Brass Band: Unlock Your Mind. Release date NOW OCT 10, 2011.

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