Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17777 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 98 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Feb.8).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 09: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 09: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ The Forum, Billingham. 3:00pm.
Sun 09: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Tom Remon & Mark Williams @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 09: Rod Oughton’s Tomorrow’s New Quartet with Ben van Helder @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Deschanel Gordon.
Sun 09: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 10: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 11: Steve Summers Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Free. Inc. Olly Styles (tenor sax).
Thu 13: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: Artist Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Hannabiell & Midnight Blue.
Thu 13: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 14: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 12:30-1:30pm. £5.00. at the door. New second Friday in the month concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Archipelago + Anna Tempest @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Jones & Dave Kelly @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 14: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Fri 14: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 15: Elkie Brooks @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘The Long Farewell Tour’.
Sat 15: Milne Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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

Monday, November 05, 2012

Jeremy McMurray Ensemble @ The Cherry Tree

Jeremy McMurray (pno); James Birkett (gtr); Peter Ayton (bs); Paul Smith (dms).
All around me weapons  of mass destruction were exploding, missiles were being launched, the skies were a sea of cascading flames - the start of WW3 or just another Guy Fawkes night? This was in the famous TV town of Hebburn. By the time I got to Jesmond, things were a little quieter and, judging by the crowds heading along Osborne Rd., I guess there was a more organised gunpowder plot  down the road apiece. .
I settled for the musical fireworks at the Cherry Tree.
Even here it at first appeared it might be a damp squib owing to some malfunction of Peter Ayton's bass guitar. 
Troupers that they are, Birkett and McMurray tackled Autumn Leaves whilst Smith and Ayton worked on curing the ailing bass. As for me, I was starting with Smoked Ham Hock Terrine, Fried Quail's Egg, Pease Pudding and Garden Leaf.
The bass mended, the quartet got going with Johnny Green's Out of Nowhere. Guitar and piano don't always work well together but they did in this setting. Both guys soloed brilliantly and, somehow, managed to avoid any chordal clashes.
Black Orpheus, with it's bossa rhythm and tricky changes accompanied my Beef Flank Pie with Suet Crust Pastry and Buttered Vegetables. Well, if you think the Black Orpheus changes are tricky try negotiating the aforementioned dish!
I must confess I have an aversion to pies served in a separate dish and I should have asked beforehand if this was the case. I didn't so I can hardly complain.
Scrapple From The Apple took my mind off pie crusts and Peter, Paul and - where was Mary? - had their say during a round of fours with the front men.
When Sunny Get's Blue - one of those ballads to die for - had the two Jays digging deep into an emotive vein and I swear my own eyes got grey and cloudy. Mint! A rollicking Take The A Train and then the set finished, as I finished my White Chocolate & Nut Blondie, Vanilla Mascarpone, with Doxy - Sonny Rollin's re-working of Ja-Da (or as the River City Jazzmen renamed it - Albert, Albert - driving in his Sunbeam Talbot).
The Cherry Tree continues to present the best in jazz and food - what more do you want? You eat, you listen to jazz - seems a no-brainer not to show your face!
Lance.

No comments :

Blog Archive