Bebop Spoken There

Ethan Hawke (starring as Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon): ''Larry [Lorenz] Hart would be so happy that his music and his words and his poetry are still alive.'' - The Northern Echo 27 November 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

18000 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 964 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 24).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Sat 06: Sarah Spencer’s Transatlantic Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 06: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Minor Swing. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 06: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 06: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76 (inc. bf).
Sat 06: Kaberry Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £15.00. (inc. hot buffet). ‘Christmas 1945’. Kaberry Big Band, formerly Vermont Big Band.
Sat 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ Platform 1, Bedlington. 7:30pm. £6.00. Rhythm & blues.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. Xmas Party with buffet.
Sat 06: The Jive Aces @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £22.00., £20.00.
Sat 06: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. special guest Donna Hewitt (sax, clarinet).
Sun 07: Finn-Keeble Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio + Ruth Lambert.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Jason Isaacs Big Band @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 5:15pm (4:00pm doors). £21.50 (inc. bf).
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ 3 Stories, High St. West, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Support set from Play More Jazz! course participants. Note earlier start.

Mon 08: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm

Wed 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 10: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Mike Lindup Jazz Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £26.50 (inc. bf). Lindup, Yolanda Charles (bass), John Sam (drums).
Wed 10: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00.

Thu 11: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: West Coast (cool ) / Wordsearch (cool) Cool Jazz or ‘Cold’, ‘Cool’, ‘Hot’, ‘Warm’ in the title or lyrics.
Thu 11: George Robinson @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £5.42 (inc. bf). Vienna’s Voice charity evening featuring ’15 year old singing sensation the ‘Redcar Crooner’ George Robinson’. Over 35s only.
Thu 11: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. back tapes.
Thu 11: Ransom Van @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 11: Down for the Count Swing Orchestra @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:30pm. £37.70 (inc. bf). ‘Swing into Xmas’.

Fri 12: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 12: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 12: Milne Glendinning Band @ Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £15.00. ‘Xmas Soiree’.
Fri 12: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax, soprano sax); Matthew Forster (alto sax, clarinet); Sue Ferris (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone);Emma Fisk (violin); Andy Champion (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 12: Tony Hadley: Xmas Big Band Tour 2025 @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Fri 12: Alexia Gardner @ The New Ship Inn, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. 8:00pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy, Abbie Finn.
Fri 12: Jive Aces: Swingin’ Xmas Show @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm.

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, May 05, 2012

Jazz North East Newsletter.

(By Dave Clark).No less than three concerts this week, presenting Jazz North East wearing two of its most varied hats. Also a special price deal - see the very end of this newsletter. Two of the concerts have appeared in a previous newsletter and the third is a newcomer. It seems fair to begin with the newcomer even though the other two pre-date it :

8.00PM SUNDAY 13TH MAY
FUSIONHEAD
Roz Sluman (sax & vocals); Nick Rimmer (keyboards); Alex Green (bass & vocals); Kenny Reed (drums)
Carlisle-based Fusionhead pride themselves on tight arrangements and creative improvisations over groove-based jazz in a variety of styles-funk, soul, blues and rock. Their material includes home-grown originals and classics from Miles to Sting - music to let your hair down to, if you're still fortunate enough to have any, and get funky.
Leader Roz Sluman has played with legends of the soul-jazz genre such as James Brown reedsman Pee Wee Ellis so she knows her way round that genre. But her influences - she names Paul Desmond, Cannonball Adderley, David Sanborn and the Brecker Brothers- are clear evidence that her style also embodies both cool melodic playing and hard bop.
The gritty vocals of bassist Alex Green are a second strong blues element to the band while Nick Rimmer, keyboards, and Kenny Reed,drums, respectively provide textural variation and subtle colouration.
This gig is in an upstairs room inaccessible to wheelchair-users.
BRIDGE HOTEL, CASTLE GARTH, NEWCASTLE NE1 1RQ
Admission £5.00 - only at the door.
------
L'Entente Chordiale - Wednesday May 9. 7:30pm.
SPELK
Chris Sharkey (guitar); Andy Champion(bass); Adrian Tilbrook (drums)
+ TWEEDLE DEE
Robin Fincker (tenor sax & clarinet); Alex Bonney (trumpet); Fidel Fourneyron (trombone & tuba); Julian Desprez (guitar); Kit Downes (organ); Dave Kane(bass); Yann Joussein (drums)
The first of two nights of an Anglo French Festival (L'Entente Chordiale) which can be described as genuinely unique. Cheltenham Jazz Festival beat us to it by commissioning a performance from Tweedle Dee, the septet of leading young players from Paris and London who are at the core of our festival. But that was to be that. Tweedle Dee didn't envisage a second performance until Jazz North East persuaded them to contribute to our growing relationship with our Gallic cousins and extend their life by a day. Our festival's uniqueness doesn't stop with Tweedle Dee though. We added to them one French trio and a solo musician (Day Two) and, in an effort to forge links and create possible future collaborations, added two Tyneside bands consisting of some of the region's most adventurous musicians.
The festival kicks off tonight with a double bill of freeform jazz-rockers Spelk, who played a ferociously energetic set at the recent Gateshead International Jazz Festival, and Tweedle Dee, whose starry line-up includes keyboards maestro Kit Downes (whose own quintet played a great gig at the Lit & Phil a few weeks ago.)
----- 
L'Entente Chordiale Thursday May 10. 7:30pm.
ACV
Graeme Wilson(saxes); Mark Williams (guitar); Paul Edis (piano); Andy Champion (bass); Adrian Tilbrook (drums)
+YANN YOSSEIN
Yann Yossein (percussion & electronics)
+Q
Julien Desprez (guitar); Fanny Lasfargues (electric bass); Sylvain Darrifourcq (drums)
Day 2 begins around 2pm in the afternoon with an open invitation to local players to drop in, free of charge, to meet our guests and swap musical ideas.
The evening concert is in three parts, beginning with a set by Andy Champion's ACV - original music, excellently played - continuing with a percussion and electronics performance by French drummer Yann Yossein and climaxing with a return visit from the experimental jazz- rock trio Q.
NEWCASTLE LITERARY & PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY, 23 WESTGATE ROAD, NEWCASTLE NE1 1SE
ADMISSION £20.00 & £16.00 CONC. FOR TWO NIGHTS;£12.00 & £10.00 CONC. FOR ONE NIGHT.
Tickets can be reserved from the venue Tel. 0191 232 0192 and bought at the door.
Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jazznortheast
Details of all our events on our website at www.jazznortheast.com.
Dave C.
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive