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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, 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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

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, September 22, 2012

Taco Bells & others @ Morden Tower. September 21

(Review by Russell).
Lo-fi (low-financed!) promoters A Better Noise do their thing – obscure, underground, gigs for those who can be bothered. Finland’s Taco Bells were top of the bill but more of them later.
Hapsburg Braganza: Phil Begg (guitar) opened the show with, to quote Rough Trade, ‘lower case electronics’ guitar. That describes perfectly Begg’s approach. An absence of pyrotechnics, introspective leftfield folk melodies, desperately (beautifully) slow, wringing out the last resonant note. Begg’s latest vinyl release (yes, LP format!) Recurring Dreams is available at gigs or via www.altvinyl.com   
John Pope (double bass) & James Joys (clarinet & electronics)
John Pope plays jazz (Alan Glen, Lindsay Hannon). John Pope enjoys the free jazz scene – as a listener or performer. For this set he worked with James Joys (clarinet and Apple Mac). The Mac fired-up (the Silicon Valley fruit shone brightly) leaving the listener in no doubt that there would be some knob-twiddling. There was a bit of spittle clarinet playing, there was a lot of Pope’s free jazz bass playing, there was some good stuff in there.      
Taco Bells: Sami Pekkola (tenor saxophone & washing machine hot/cold hose pipe), Tero Kemppainen (double bass), Jaakko Tolvi (drums) & Stuart Arnot (trumpet)
Three youthful looking lads from Finland, approachable with an excellent command of the English language and a youthful-ish looking Glaswegian trumpeter. The quartet waited patiently to take the stage and when the core trio (the Finns) hit, blew and plucked the first notes it was immediately apparent that this was to be a Peter Brötzmann inspired set. Sami Pekkola (sporting leftfield beard – de rigueur at a Morden Tower event) attempted to blow the roof off the West Walls venue. Bassist Tero Kemppainen (loaning Pope’s instrument) did all the things required of a bassist in a free jazz context (it took him a while to adjust to the sound levels in the small space) and drummer Jaakko Tolvi impressed throughout. How is it that drummers working on the free jazz scene – however young – have an encyclopaedic knowledge of the musical vocabulary? So, to Pekkola’s party piece; attach a coiled length of washing machine hose pipe to the mouth piece to transform the sound to something akin to the oboe. Why? I don’t know. Glaswegian trumpeter Stuart Arnot, resident in Finland, joined the trio mid-set to blow some very free, furious long-note stuff. Washing machine or not Taco Bells scorched through their set with the hot tap very much full on.
Photos from "Anonymous"
Russell 
at

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