Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 821 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 30.) 100.

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

October.

Sun 04: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Heugh Battery, Hartlepool. 11:00am-12 noon & 1:00-2:00pm.
Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 04: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Bill Watson (trumpet).
Sun 04: Sax Choir w. Rachel Musson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Rivkala + Ceitidh Mac + Thatcher & Knowles @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. A NFOJAIM event.
Sun 04: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. RESCHEDULED from September 27.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £3.00.

Mon 05: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 06: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Paul Grainger (double bass).
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Murray Oak, Paul Grainger, John Bradford.
Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 06: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. First night of two.

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 07: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. Second night of two.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 08: Indigo Jazz Voices w. Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Graeme Wilson Quartet - The Music of John Coltrane. Splinter @ The Bridge.

Graeme Wilson (ten); Stu Collingwood (keys); Andy Champion (bs); Adrian Tilbrook (dms). (Review by Lance.)
Song of the Underground Railroad from Coltrane's Africa Brass album kicked off this tribute. Wilson was in paint-stripping mode from bar one. By bar 16 he was going for the jugular and by the end of his solo he left no doubt that he was The Man to take us on a Trane ride. Collingwood kept the engine fuelled with Tilbrook and Champion making sure it stayed on track. What am I saying? "Stayed on track!" - it did a couple of mid air somersaults , shaked it's caboose and still arrived on time. This was some Trane!
Next up Lazy Bird from Blue Train - my favourite Coltrane album - more outstanding solos and I have to say, at this moment in time, I can't think of four guys who are still alive doing this better than tonight's four. I'm not talking Newcastle or even England - I'm talking the world.
Coltrane's tribute to Sonny Rollins - Like Sonny - ticked the boxes as did the beautiful Aisha from Olé. This was followed by the most amazing version of Countdown. I well recall the Woody Herman Band playing this at a North Sea Jazz Festival circa 1983. Charlie Carmichael and I watched and listened in awe as the five saxes blew this legendary fingerbuster with apparent ease. Tonight, Graeme Wilson did the same and did it even faster!
Break time. The consensus during the interval was that this Coltrane themed gig had pulled a respectably sized audience - as had previous themes such as Miles, Mingus and Bill Evans.... Who next? 
Back on the stand, Tilbrook put the boot in before Wilson joined him for a drum/tenor blast on Venus that led, I think, into Cosmos. Whatever, it was one helluva journey into space!
Bass Blues moved back in time by a minute or two but Persuance from the Love Supreme album propelled us into a world of Supreme Love.
This should have been recorded!
It was! - video link
Lance.
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1 comment :

Robert Laing said...

You can hear (and see, eventually) the whole gig here: http://www.splinterjazz.co.uk/graeme-wilson-coltranenight-soundonly/wilson-coltranenight-sounds-only.mp3

Monday, December 10, 2012 9:06:00 pm

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