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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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

17641 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 915 of them this year alone and, so far, 60 this month (Dec. 26).

From This Moment On ...

December

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Mon 30: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.

Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington (National Trust), Cambo, Morpeth NE61 4AR. 12 noon & 2:00pm. Admission to site £19.00. CANCELLED!
Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Archie Brown & Friends @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00-8:00pm. Free.
Tue 31: Jan Spencelayh Quartet @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 5:00-9:00pm. A NYE ‘Dinner-Dance’ event. £42.99. Featuring special guest Mick Donnelly.
Tue 31: Jack Logan @ The Robin Hood Inn, East Wallhouses NE18 0LL. Tel: 01434 672549. 7:00pm. £59.95. ‘New Year’s Eve Gala Dinner’. Rat Pack etc.

January 2025

Wed 01: Revolutionaires @ The Old Barrel (Flatties), Boldon Colliery. 3:30pm. Free. Excellent rhythm & blues.

Thu 02: ???

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: John Gregory @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar.

Sat 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £5.00. Xmas party (rescheduled from early December).

Sun 05: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Salty Dog @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Americana, jazz & blues.
Sun 05: Papa G’s Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

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

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Tim Garland, Jim Mullen, Andy Champion and Adrian Tilbrook @ The Bridge.

Tim Garland (ten/sop); Jim Mullen (gtr); Andy Champion (bs); Adrian Tilbrook (dms).
GIG OF THE YEAR? For me all bets are off - this was it! Never have so many enthusiasts been crammed into the small confines of the Bridge Hotel for a Splinter gig and justifiably so. Such was the ambiance created between band and listener that I didn't allow myself to ponder the question as to where were you all the rest of the year?
From the opening Invitation to the closing Caravan we were treat to virtuoso playing by all four participants. None of the "and now here is another composition of mine..." syndrome but instead straight down the middle tried and tested tunes that never stopped swinging.
In a Sentimental Mood had been played earlier by Pete Gilligan at the Jazz Café but this was something else again and this is no reflection on Pete.
Jim Mullen is such a melodic player I could wallow in his lyricism for eternity yet when the chips are down he can put the boot in as hard as anyone.
Tim Garland, bobbing and weaving like a fighter preparing to land the killer punch, took the tenor on a wild journey that had many deviant variations yet never lost its way.
Andy and Adrian - homegrown talent - were far from outshone and contributed on an equal basis with the visitors to make this such a memorable evening. Imagine if they'd had a rehearsal!
To top this, Stan Tracey at The Sage tomorrow (Monday Dec. 19) is going to have to play like he's never played before and on Thursday, also at The Sage, Christine Tobin too is going to have it all to do. But who knows what yet may happen before the year is over.
Photos.
Lance.

4 comments :

stevebfc said...

Great atmosphere great players but lack of original material (for obvious reasons) means it could only be gig of 1961 not 2011!

Lance said...

An interesting point Steve. However, as the tune/theme is but something for the soloist to hang his hat on and 12/32 or whatever bars later only the harmonic structure remains is it that important whether it be a standard or "one wot I wrote yesterday"?
Lance.
PS: As a matter of interest Steve, what was your "Gig of the Year"?

Anonymous said...

Methinks stevebfc is slightly missing the improvisational point of jazz.
But I have to admit I did think for ages that Julie Andrews had stolen that tune from Coltrane.
But anyway, it couldn't have been 1961, no self respecting jazzman of the time would have been seen dead in a t-shirt like TG's.
PS - my gig of the year in 1961 was the Billy Cotton Band Show

stevebfc said...

Thanks Anonymous for explaining the improvisational point of Jazz for all these years I thought the musicans were just playing the notes in slightly the wrong order.

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