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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 2025).

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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. 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

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Wilbur's Fate @ The Head of Steam, Newcastle. August 17th

Jordi Cooke (guitar), Matthew Forster (tenor saxophone & bass clarinet), JohnPope (double bass) & David Francis (drums)'
The Head of Steam's basement performance space was the ideal setting for the debut of Wilbur's Fate. A good crowd of well-wishers turned out to hear the quartet. Bassist John Pope has been gigging for a numbers of years, so too the ubiquitous David Francis (an accomplished drummer in any idiom). Pope and Francis are of the younger generation of jazz players in the north east yet the other half of the quartet made them look like veterans. Guitarist Jordi Cooke and reedsman Matthew Forster first appeared on Bebop Spoken Here's radar at the short-lived Boiler Room sessions just down the road at the Bridge Hotel. Cooke, contributor of much of the material heard, has developed an on-stage presence and is at ease talking to the audience. He is a distinctive stylist in the making; contemporary yet ''retro Modern''.
The Downbeat and the New Orleans Jazz Club are legendary jazz haunts of Newcastle, sadly long gone. Modern jazz combos, were, I'm sure, playing just about every night of the week in those places. Listening to Wilbur's Fate had this listener imagining that these latter day Modernists would have found a niche back in the day. Tenor player Forster looked the part and he too has adopted the sound of the Modernists. The opening number - Twisted Tales - was a punchy, brief affair. A Cooke ballad - Poem - revealed a lyrical side before a return to up-tempo material - Praying Mantis and All Bets Are Off - defined an excellent first set.
A varied beer selection occupied the thoughts of the barflies during the interval and there was much chatter amongst a who's who of the local jazz scene in town to check out Wilbur's Fate.
The audience decided to hang around for the second set to hear Absolute Destination, the ballad After Everything featuring a tenor solo from Forster and other tunes. A tune with no name became The Man with No Name with Forster forging a powerful solo on bass clarinet!
The senior members of the band - Messrs. Pope and Francis - were on top form and contributed typically effective solos. The band certainly knew how to swing and from time to time did just that.
Wilbur's Fate should be heard live. It is a new project of course but on this first hearing there is much more to come. The band's next gig is but a stone's throw across the railway tracks at the Telegraph pub on Orchard Street, Friday 23rd September. Recommended.
Photos. Russell.

1 comment :

Lance said...

Agreed Russell, a tight band, I loved them. The material was original yet melodic - the two don't always go hand in hand!

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