Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 821 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 30.) 100.

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

October.

Sun 04: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Heugh Battery, Hartlepool. 11:00am-12 noon & 1:00-2:00pm.
Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 04: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Bill Watson (trumpet).
Sun 04: Sax Choir w. Rachel Musson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Rivkala + Ceitidh Mac + Thatcher & Knowles @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. A NFOJAIM event.
Sun 04: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. RESCHEDULED from September 27.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £3.00.

Mon 05: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 06: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Paul Grainger (double bass).
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Murray Oak, Paul Grainger, John Bradford.
Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 06: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. First night of two.

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 07: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. Second night of two.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 08: Indigo Jazz Voices w. Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

Ernie Watts Quartet/Ronnie Scott All-Stars @ Ronnie Scott's

Ernie Watts (ten); Christof Seenger (pno); Rudi Engel (bs); Heinrich Koebberling (dms).
(Review by Lance)
A near capacity Ronnie's were duly captivated by the astonishing tenor playing of Ernie Watts. Think Hank Mobley, then Coltrane, Brecker and maybe a few others and you're getting the idea. His technique is prodigious but it isn't all technique. Watts can be doing Formula One with the pedal pressed to the floor and then, he's taking a stroll in the park, before revving up the motor again.
I swear he's got six fingers on each hand! This is a guy surely at the pinnacle of his career exploring every tonal inflection and combination lesser mortals can only dream of!

Oasis, the title track of his current CD and nothing to do with the pop group of the same name began as a probing, haunting melody, full of Eastern Promise before exploding in a cascade of notes and sounds. The Wow Factor was high. As it was indeed with pianist Seenger's solos. It was as if Czerny had met Art Tatum at Oscar Peterson's. Later they indulged in some contrapuntal interplay sans bass and drums that topped just about everything.
The Beatles' Blackbird seems to be in vogue among jazzmen these days - Am I the only one who's never heard The Beatles' version?
Johnny Mandell's You Are There was mainly unaccompanied balladry - beautiful.
However, the highlight for me had to be 'Shaw Nuff. This was the solo to end all bebop solos - it went off the edge of the Wow Factor Scale!
Piano, bass and drums did their bit but tonight belonged to Ernie Watts.
Earlier the Ronnie Scott All-Stars opened up. Alex Garnett (alto); Phil Peskett (pno); Sam Burgess (bs); Pedro Segundo (dms).
It too was a lovely set - particularly I Only Have Eyes For You played in 7/4! "Imagine doing a foxtrot with a limp" was how Garnett described it! It was fun. He too is a superb sax player and the closer - Monk's Evidence - set the scene perfectly for what was too follow.
I'd like to have stayed for the Late Set but I was beginning to flag and it had been a long day.
Lance.
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