Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

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

Thursday, January 24, 2013

North East heat of the New Brunswick Battle of the Blues.

(Press Release)
Six blues acts have been chosen from musicians across the region to compete in the North East heat of the New Brunswick Battle of the Blues.  They will go head to head at Redcar Rhythm and Blues Club, Redcar on 8thFebruary in the competition to find Britain’s best unsigned and original blues artists.   The UK-wide search has now reached the regional heat stage and the competing acts chosen for the North East heat are:
Half Deaf Clatch from Anlaby nr Hull
Street Corner Blues from Carlisle
How Askew from Newcastle
The Sugar Bs from Cleveland
The Hookahs from Ashington, nr Morpeth
Tom Adams from Brampton, Cumbria
The evening promises to be a fantastic night out for live music lovers. Doors open at 7.00pm for an 8.30pm start. Entry costs just £6.
The winner of the North East heat will go head to head with the other regional winners at the London final in March. The overall competition winner will be flown out on an all-expenses paid trip to New Brunswick, Canada, to perform main stage at the province’s great Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival in September 2013. This search for the best of British blues has come about because New Brunswick is looking to the UK to add a new act to the mix for its world-renowned Festival in Fredericton.
Says competition organiser Lee George, “For the eventual winner at the finals in London in March, we’re hoping this will be a life-changing opportunity, performing amongst the very best and sampling ‘the jewel of Atlantic Canada’ with all that the province has to offer. New Brunswick is an incredibly beautiful part of Canada and we will show the winning act some of the world’s best whale watching, sea kayaking, breath-taking scenery and – very importantly - real New Brunswick hospitality.
“This is the third year we’ve run this competition. The heat on the 8th February promises to be a night to remember for artists and fans alike. There will be 6 brilliant acts battling it out for a place in the final.  We want as many blues fans as possible to come along to the heat and share the excitement.”
For more information about the province of New Brunswick, the North East heat and how to attend on the night, visit www.tourismnewbrunswick.co.uk    To follow the progress of the competition, find it on Twitter @newbrunswickblu or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/NewBrunswickBattleoftheBlues

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