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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 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, August 25, 2012

Jeff Barnhart and Friends, Customs House, South Shields Friday August 24

Jeff Barnhart (piano); Anne Barnhart (flute); Mike Durham (trumpet) Derek Fleck (clarinet and tenor sax) Ollie Rillands (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex).
This was a thoroughly entertaining, enjoyable and educational gig.  I say educational because Barnhart gave us lots of information  about the  rag-time aspects of jazz,  and   interesting stories about such characters  as Fats  Waller.  When the rest of the musicians later took to the stage, I realised that  there wasn’t a sheet of written music to be seen.  You really need to know your instrument and your jazz to perform in this way, so well done everyone!
It   all  started  with the irresistible Maple Leaf Rag from 1899, closely followed by Black and White Rag.  Our  feet  were  still  tapping as Barnhart expressed admiration for the grand piano that  the  establishment  had  provided.  At  some  venues,  he  explained,  you just get a PSO, that is a ‘piano shaped object’. This is typical of the man’s wit.  The Entertainer was played as a blues with many variations, then  Twelth  Street  Rag  (1908)  slowly  at  first,  building  in speed, based on only three notes, as Barnhart pointed  out.   Next  came  the  same  tune as it would have been played by Fats Waller 35 years later, with a quick chorus of a song, commenting on the tune itself. All played in the  lively style of tuneful  right hand  and a left hand keeping a constant rhythmic thrust.  At this point Chopin   entered the scene with his Nocturne Opus 9 No. 2, played in the Fats Waller style.  Enter Jeff’s wife   Anne, no mean flautist, with a flowing tune, Water From an Ancient Well.  Other numbers played included   I Got Rhythm (flute and Piano swopping 4’s); At Twilight; and The Joint is Jumpin’.
The friends appeared for the second half, one of them being Mike Durham’s red, white, yellow and blue silk tie, which added lots of colour to the proceedings.  This half was the more usual jazz set-up of tunes with many good solos and also the occasional sung chorus;  the musical ‘feel’ was of the classic jazz.of the 1920s and '30s.  We heard standards such as I’ve Got my Fingers Crossed; Ain’t Misbehavin; Louisiana Fairytale; It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie (dedicated to all politicians, we were told); Yellow Dog Blues (just the piano); Some Day Sweetheart; My Very Good Friend The Milkman (sung by Mike); Shake it and Break it (with wonderfully effective drums).  The well-deserved encore was a romantically witty song When Did You Leave Heaven.  A good evening’s entertainment.      
Ann Alex.

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