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Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, April 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

17957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 278 of them this year alone and, so far, 34 this month (April 14).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Tue 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

Sat 26: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 26: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Elvet Methodist Church, Durham. 7:30pm. Tickets: £12.00. + bf. Duo performance.
Sat 26: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.50.
Sat 26: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 27: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Paul Susans, Russ Morgan.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: JustKing Jones @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.50. JustKing Jones (alto sax, soprano sax); Jordan Williams (piano); Jason Clotter (bass); Malcolm Charles (drums). Ace NYC outfit!
Sun 27: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 27: Swing Manouche @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00. Tickets from 01665 711388.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Ken Marley, Russ Morgan.

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

Tue 29: ???

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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