Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

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: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest TBC.
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Solihull Jazz and Blues Festival.

If you're looking to a) Celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee or b) Escape the Queen's Diamond Jubilee then a trip down Birmingham way may be the answer.
Solihull in the West Midlands is set to get visitors jumping and jiving at the first-ever Solihull Jazz and Blues Festival which runs from Friday 1st- Monday 4th June 2012.
Organised by Solihull Business Improvement District (BID) with support from the legendary Jim Simpson from Big Bear Music, probably the oldest independent record label in the UK; the festival is designed to bring local residents, visitors and jazz and blues aficionados together to enjoy some of the most-popular and accomplished performers on the circuit across the four day event.
There will be performances from Tipitina; Broombusters; 52 Skidoo; The Fabulous Boogie Boys; Val Wiseman, Simon Spillett and Roy Forbes with their Quartets; The Brian Newton Big Band...and the fabulously-named Ricky Cool and Hoola Boola Boys who count music legend Robert Plant amongst their fans.
The weekend kicks off with a launch party on the evening of Friday 1st June with bands playing all evening on a specially-constructed stage in the town’s Jubilee gardens, with visitors enjoying the music from the many bars and restaurants overlooking the stage. A second stage will open in the town’s Mell Square from Saturday morning (June 2nd) and there will also be performers popping up across the town centre.
Also on the Saturday, the infectious honky-tonk sound of Mardi Gras will fill the town as a New Orleans-style processional band, followed by dancers and colourful characters, creates a carnival feel in the High Street. The procession will also include stilt walkers, flamenco dancers, Bhangra dancers and some brilliant Jitterbug performers.
Shirley Sturzaker, Director of Solihull BID said: “It’s going to be an amazing weekend. There’s no sound that says summer is here more than a foot-tapping jazz band and nothing quite as relaxing as listening to the wistful lyrics of a blues singer.
“We are lucky to have some of the most-accomplished jazz and blues performers in the country taking to the stage in Solihull across the weekend and, if you add in the Mardi Gras-style procession and Jubilee Street Party, it promises to be a fabulous event for the whole family.”
Jim Simpson, owner of Big Bear Music, added: “This promises to be a fun weekend with lots of straight-ahead jazz and blues in a relaxed setting with stages just a few minutes apart. By and large the music is jazz from the swing era, and blues that jumps and jives.”
Lance.
Above info from Deborah Smith -  www.wordsmith-communication.co.uk
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