Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18336 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 190 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 28), 90

From This Moment On ...

February

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free Quintet + guest Dan Johnson (tenor sax).
Sun 01: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Fergus McCreadie & Matt Carmichael @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 3:00-4:30pm.
Sun 01: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Littlewood Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv., £6.00. 25 & under. Marcus Dawe (piano); Ifedi Osiyemi (bass); Jack Littlewood (drums).

Mon 02: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Trumpet quartet @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free. Quartet inc. Dick Stacey (SSBB). Programme inc. Basie’s Panassié Stomp + Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.
Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Celebrate - Commonwealth Day.
Thu 05: Flo/ra + Maya Kally @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £16.45., £13.28., £12.22., £9:04.
Thu 05: Salty Dog @ @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: EXHIBITION: Images of Jazz @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. Visual artist Dave Barden exhibiting works in Gallery Two (10:00am-4:00pm Mon to Sat, closing May 30).
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Market Place, Blyth NE24 1BQ. 5:00pm, 6:00pm & 7:30pm. Free. A ‘Festival of Energy’ event.
Fri 06: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 06: Brass Funkeys + support @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Fri 06: Vintage Explosion @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 06: Flat Moon + Spilt Milk @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.
Fri 06: Giles Strong Quartet @ Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:45pm (7:00pm doors). £16.50.
Fri 06: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 8:00pm. Musicians Unlimited (in concert). £10.00. (£20.00 weekend ticket). Day 1/3.

Sat 07: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 12 noon. Open Section (all day, closing concert performance at 7:00pm). £15.00. (£20.00 weekend ticket). Day 2/3.
Sat 07: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Antônio Carlos Jobim: Meditation & How Insensitive. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free. Sat 07: Hot Club du Nord @ St Mary’s Parish Hall, Barnard Castle. 7:00pm. £20.00., £8.00 under 16. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 07: Taupe + Marigolds + Mother Man @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

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 30, 2012

Troyka @ The Central Bar, Gateshead. May 29

Chris Montague (guitar), Kit Downes (organ) & Josh Blackmore (drums)
(Review by Russell)
Schmazz at the Cluny on the South Side! A one-off relocation south of the Tyne to the Central Bar in Gateshead to present Troyka paid dividends - a full house, no less. Well, it helped that guitarist Chris Montague, a Gateshead lad, had the Montague Clan (grand mother et al) in attendance to lend support in numbers. The trio arrived late due to the band bus (aka humble car) breaking down en route to Tyneside. It was agreed to play one long set rather than the regulation two sets. On a warm night make-shift fans were fanned, brows mopped, beers quaffed.
Moxxy, the soon-to-be-released CD, featured prominently and the opener – Dropsy – laid down a riff straight out of the Jimmy Page guitar tutor. Another new one – Tax Return – followed and solos were few and far between. Central to the performance was the group dynamic with frequently shifting rhythms developed by non-stop drummer Josh Blackmore and Montague. Organist Kit Downes clocked-up his third appearance on Tyneside in a matter of weeks and once more played a blinder. Troyka allows Downes greater freedom to go off on a tangent although he has the self-discipline to bring it home in good time. The slow tempo Chaplin (?) engaged a low gear heavy groove and in contrast Rest drifted on a (momentarily Metheny) thermal. The highlight of the evening came from an unexpected source – the blues. The tune (Crawler), a slow blues written by Downes featured a contender for solo of the year from Montague (eliciting spontaneous applause) with the trio showing how it should be done; measured, tasteful and an avoidance of excess. 
Moxxy is released on June 11th on Edition Records (www.editionrecords.com).
Russell
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive