Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18288 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 142 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 14), 42

From This Moment On ...

February

Thu 19: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: George Shearing Jazz Moments.

Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Squabble @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:00pm. Steve Chambers (organ); Jude Murphy (double bass, vocals); Sid White (drums).
Fri 20: Jive Aces @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors).
Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Sat 21: ???

Sun 22: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 22: Joe Steels Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Harben Kay Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Joe Steels Group @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 24: Liam Oliver & Shayo Oshodi @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 26: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 26: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00 adv.
Thu 26: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Blues.

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, May 02, 2012

Alexander Stewart joins Dionne Warwick as support act for UK tour

Rising jazz vocalist Alexander Stewart has been chosen to support Dionne Warwick on her Jazz FM-sponsored UK tour starting on 30th May. Ms Warwick, whose recording career began in 1962, will be coming to the UK for the first time since 2008 for a nationwide tour presented by Jazz FM that will celebrate her 50 years in the business. 
Alexander Stewart will be playing with bassist Gary Crosby OBE (whose CV includes Courtney Pine, Jazz Jamaica, Nu Troop and Denys Baptiste), drummer Andy Chapman (Rhythmica, Ayanna Witter-Johnson) and his pianist, arranger and musical director Alex Webb. (YouTube clip.)
Alexander Stewart will open for Ms Warwick on the following dates:
Weds 30th May: The Sage, Gateshead
Thurs 31st May: Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Fri 1st June: Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Sun 3rd June: Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
Mon 4th June: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

At just 24 years of age, Manchester-born Stewart has already created a buzz as one of the most precociously talented vocalists of the new generation. With a warm, urgent voice that shows off his early love of Billie Holiday and Tony Bennett, he avoids being a nostalgia act with his judiciously off-beat choice of material and a decidedly contemporary energy level.
Press reaction to Stewart’s 2011 debut release, All Or Nothing At All, (ASM001) was laudatory; of his most recent Ronnie Scott’s appearance in April the Times said, in four-star review, “How far the young British singer has come in a very short time … Stewart will be opening for Dionne Warwick on her forthcoming UK tour. Take your seats early.”
CD Review All or Nothing at All.

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