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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

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Bellavana @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30-10:00pm. Free. A Late Shows event.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

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

Saturday, October 08, 2011

Lockerbie Jazz Festival: Sept. 30 - Oct. 2.

This year’s festival, the 6th, was as exciting as ever. 
Friday.featured the Red Stripe Band, a jump jive outfit who really had the Town Hall jumpin’. Elsewhere,  local tenor man now New York based, Ben Bryden's Bright Noise provided a contemporary sound - an international band with guys from Belgium Australia and the US alongside him.
Saturday morning/afternoon - Take 6 in Lockerbie Academy, with music, food and drink, stalls and workshops. 7 hours of virtually non stop music and dance over 5 stages.
Trad from local band The Lairds of Dixieland and the Vieux Carre Jazzmen from Newcastle, who brought a busload of fans. Big band music from The Strathclyde Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Nelson Tomlinson School Big Band – great to see the youngsters playing Jazz. It gives us confidence in the future of this great music! A combo out of SYJO performed with another local tenor man Scott Murphy, who himself fronted his Janek Project. But that wasn’t all! The Stewart Forbes 4  (Stewart is SYJO’s director) did their thing, Trumpeter Bruce Adams joined by Houston Person on tenor played a great gig in the afternoon.
Tom Finlay and Sue McHugh and others showed off the results of the singer’s workshop, while Richard Michael on piano was joined by some of the young musicians present in a jam session; he even got a young piper up! He followed this with a history of Jazz Piano in about 40 minutes.
Saturday evening. The Academy main hall was filled to capacity for Acker Bilk and his Paramount Jazz Band. This went down very well, even though Acker is beginning to show his age.
At the Queens that night we heard a quintet brought together for the Festival. Houston Person (tenor) had flown in from the States just to play at Lockerbie alongside Alan Barnes on alto and baritone and Bruce Adams on trumpet backed by the Paul Harrison Trio, Paul on piano, Euan Burton on bass and Doug Hough on drums.  Despite not having played with Houston before this was a tremendous gig, with wonderful ballads from the front line as a group and as individuals, as well as some real swinging combo work.
Sunday afternoon.Three performances on Sunday followed a gospel service in Dryfesdale Parish Church led by Rev. Sandy Stoddart. The Glasgow Gospel Choir a now regulars in Church on the Sunday morning of the Festival and their singing was inspirational.More Dixieland in the afternoon from the Dave Donohoe Band before a very appreciative audience at the Queens Hotel, Janet Seidel, Australia’s First Lady of Song brought her trio to the  Somerton Hotel, with a wonderful selection from the Song Books, then on to the Dryfesdale Hotel for the closing gig.
What a climax to the Festival!
Houston Person on tenor teamed up again with Alan Barnes on alto, clarinet and Baritone, backed by the Paul Harrison Trio. This was for me, was the highlight of the weekend. From ballads to blues and up tempo numbers they had the audience worked, at times, into a frenzy, particularly when they launched into a totally improvised blues, with amazing solos from the leaders, matched by an equally superb solo from Paul Harrison.
The perfect end to another successful Lockerbie Jazz Festival.
(Photos from Ray Robson).
George Smith
(George Smith presents ‘Mainly Jazz’ on Alive107.3FM 7.00–8.00 pm on Mondays  or online at http://aliveradio.net/)

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