Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

From This Moment On

April

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Monday, October 01, 2012

Scarborough Jazz Festival September 30 - Evening

Sector 7.
Sarah Ellen Hughes, Emma Smith, Billy Boothroyd, Paddy Clarke (vcl); George Moore (pno); Tim Thornton (bs); Chris Draper (dms)..
Well seen that Mike Gordon is a working jazz musician. He can program a festival like he would play a jazz solo. Grab your attention in the opening bars then allow the tension to build until you hit the final chorus and go for the jugular. That's how it worked this year anyway.
With Sector 7 you have two well-known girl singers and two not so well-known, but equally capable, guys, a swinging rhythm section and then pow!
The four singers actually opened up sans rhythm section for an a capella version of My Favourite Things. Rich harmonies and interesting interwoven lines. Stevie Wonder's Superwoman had some outstanding contributions from the two guys whilst Sarah impressed on Be Still My Heart. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child had more harmonic gravity. But Not For Me dug deep and came up LHR. Spain and Centrepiece rounded things off after a set that was even more remarkable when you discover that this was the first time this particular lineup had appeared together!
Catch them again at The Sage, Gateshead for the final date of their tour (this was the first one.)
Lance.
Jim Birkett Trio + Alan Barnes (alt), Konrad  Wiszniewski (ten).
Have You Met Miss Jones? In the words of a Benny Carter composition - this was a Doozy (see next set) in other words, possibly the best number of the whole weekend with the Jim Birkett Trio. The two sax players blew their socks off and Jim was up there with them not at all daunted by having to follow Jim Mullen.
Alan Barnes is a household name in the jazz world and so would Konrad be if anyone outside of Poland could pronounce his surname!
Alan Barnes with Ken Mathieson: Music of Benny Carter.
Ken Mathieson (dms/arr); Alan Barnes, Dick Lee, Martin Foster, Konrad Wiszniewski, (reeds) Billy Hunter (tpt); Phil O'Malley (tmb); Roy Percy (bs).
(Photo courtesy of Bill Shakespeare.)
And so it came to pass that, as my spirits were flagging - 18 concerts in 3 days + the Birkett sessions, I was suddenly refreshed and realised that this was what it had all been building up to - a tribute to Benny Carter, a name to be placed alongside any jazz hero past and present. The solos - not least from Barnesy in the title role but also from the other guys who all chipped in handsomely. The sax section was mellifluous and wonderful in their phrasing they just gelled together so beautifully. As I said earlier it was a Doozy! (Benny Carter number).
This, the Tenth Scarborough Jazz Festival, was, I would guess, an unqualified success both musically and attendance-wise.
Chapeaux Mike.
Lance.
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