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

19,025 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 889 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 20) 68.

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.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: FILM: Blue Moon @ Washington Arts Centre. 1:00pm. £4.50 (inc. bf). Biopic of lyricist Lorenz Hart.
Wed 21: De'Sean Jones’ Urban Art Orchestra @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.; £5.00. student, unwaged; free to Mercury Awards ticket holders. De'Sean Jones (tenor sax, EWI); Tjoe Man Cheung (guitar); Mikele Montolli (double bass) + others TBA.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 21: Roby Glod-Steve Sewell Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Thu 22: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 22: Mercury Prize @ Utility Arena Newcastle. 8:00pm. £60.25.; £48.75. Line-up inc. Knats.
Thu 22: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bandstand!, Exhibition Park, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.20 (inc. bf) via Instagram. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Thu 22: Olly Styles Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.75.

Fri 23: Sara Oschlag w. Arnie Somogyi Trio @ The Lit & Phil. 1:00pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); John Hirst (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Emma Fisk’s Hot Club du Nord @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Maja Bugge & Dave Evans @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Fri 23: Knats @ King Street Social Club, North Shields. 7:00pm. £17.00., £14.70., £11.30., £5.50. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.
Fri 23: Sara Oschlag & Arnie Somogyi w. Ben Lawrence @ Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (keyboards); Arnie Somogyi (double bass).
Fri 23: Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook @ Redhills, Durham. 8:00pm. James Pearson (piano); Sam Burgess (double bass); Chris Higginbottom (drums); Alex Garnett (sax); Polly Gibbons (vocals). Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: SwanNek + Jacob Egglestone @ Fabio’s Bar, Durham. 9:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.

Sat 24: Jo Harrop @ St Chad’s College, Durham. 2:00pm. Harrop w. Jamie McCredie, Paul Edis, Andy Champion & Peter Adam Hill. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Sat 24: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner. Louis Armstrong. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 24: Seb Rochford’s Finding Ways @ Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham. 3:00pm. Tara Cunningham (guitar); Simon Tong (guitar); Anders Christensen (bass); Seb Rochford (drums). Durham Jazz Festival.
Sat 24: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ St Chad’s College, Durham. 4:00pm. VX & PE w. Andy Champion (double bass) & Steve Hanley (drums). Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Sat 24: OUTRI @ Durham Fringe Academy, Durham. 4:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sat 24: Pete Roth Trio @ Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham. 5:30pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sat 24: Durham University Jazz Society: An Evening of Standards @ Durham University Music School, Durham. 5:30pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sat 24: Rivkala @ Fabio’s Bar, Durham. 6:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Sat 24:Eleonora Kouneni @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Kouneni (vocals), Paul Edis (piano). Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Sat 24: Marvin Muoneké w. Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 7:30pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sat 24: Knats @ Fabio’s Bar, Durham. 9:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Sat 24: Kind of Blu Jazz Jam @ Radisson Blue Hotel, Durham. 10:30pm. House rhythm section: Paul Edis, Ken Marley & Steve Hanley. Durham Jazz Festival.

Sun 25: Paul Edis workshop: Another Week, Another Composition - How I Compose @ Mark Hillery Arts Centre, Collingwood College, Durham. 10:30am. £16.00. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: Jo Harrop workshop: From Chester-le-Street to LA: A Singer’s Journey @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 11:00am. £8.50. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: Janette Mason workshop: The Art of Arranging @ Mark Hillery Arts Centre, Collingwood College, Durham. 12:30pm. £16.00. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: Dean Stockdale Quartet: Celebrating Oscar Peterson @ Durham University Music School. 1:00pm. Line-up: Dean Stockdale (piano); Jamie Taylor (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums). Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Sun 25: Tom Atkinson’s Electric Miles: Celebrating Jack Johnson @ Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham. 2:00-3:15pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: SULA @ St Chad’s College, Durham. 2:30pm. Kezia Abouma (piano), Aleks Dimitrova (bass), Miranda Radford (drums). Durham Jazz Festival. NOTE NEW TIME (2.30pm).
Sun 25: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Swing into Sunday @ St Oswald’s Institute, Durham. 2:30pm. Lindy Jazz. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: Sara Oschlag w. Arnie Somogyi Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Richard Wetherall (keyboards); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); John Hirst (drums).
Sun 25: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. Ruth Lambert (vocals); Alan Law (keyboards); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Sun 25: Marvin Muoneké Quartet @ St Chad’s College, Durham. 4:00pm. Line-up: Dean Stockdale (piano); TBC (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums). Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: Janette Mason Rewired @ Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, Durham. 4:30pm. Line-up: Janette Mason (piano); Jakub Cywiński (double bass); Eric Ford (drums). Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 5:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Sun 25: Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion @ Redhills Durham Miners’ Hall, Durham. 6:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £3.00.
Sun 25: Sara Oschlag w. Arnie Somogyi Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Richard Wetherall (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); John Hirst (drums).
Sun 25: Durham University Jazz Society - Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s Bar, Durham. 8:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Sun 25: Olivia Cuttill Quintet + King Pleasure & the Biscuit Boys @ Redhills Durham Miners’ Hall, Durham. 8:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.

Mon 26: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 26: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 27: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest TBC.
Tue 27: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Southport Jazz Festival set to return for a 13th year and a brand new home.

The Atkinson, Southport’s state-of-the-art new venue has announced it will be home to the 13th annual Southport Jazz Festival, which will run from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 May 2013.
The festival has firmly established itself as one of the regions premier music events and will feature a whole host of internationally acclaimed artists from the world of Jazz. The line-up includes James Morton’s Pork Chop, James Morrison with the Swingshift Big Band, MOBO Award winners Kairos 4Tet, Joe Stilgoe Trio and up and coming talent including Go Go Penguin.
Southport Jazz festival is to be one of the first events to be hosted at the brand new Atkinson venue, a cultural jewel in the crown of the seaside resort. It is a long-awaited £17 million development of the old Southport Arts Centre, Atkinson Art Gallery, Botanic Gardens Museum and the central Library and is due to open early May 2013.
Emma Lloyd, Marketing, Programme and Visitor Services Manager said “The 2013 Southport Jazz Festival is different to the past events, as this year there are headlining jazz gigs taking place throughout the 3-days so we are able to offer a range of weekend, day and session tickets to encourage people to stay in the town that little bit longer.
We have worked really hard to ensure that the programme is diverse and has something for everyone, from the contemporary to the big band jazz, from the well-established names to the new soon-to-be stars of the jazz circuit. This year we are delighted that CAMRA have come on board to run a beer festival as part of the festival – we know this will add to the festivities.”
The full programme of events will see performances from the world of Jazz playing throughout the day and night at The Atkinson, it all kicks off on the Friday with Sheffield-born vocalist from the Nicola Farnon Quartet, who the legendary late Humphrey Lyttleton described as “A class act who should be on every jazz festival in the land...a sure fire hit!” The Al Wood Nine take over early evening with selection of bebop and swing from the multi-talented group and will perform some special arrangements as well as their classic set.  Friday evening will also feature charismatic altoist James Morton leading his band Porkchop through a collection of funk, soul jazz and gospel sound.
Go-Go Penguin makes their return to the SJF to start Saturday’s proceedings, following their huge success at last year’s festival. They are one of the most exciting contemporary instrumental groups working today.  Saturday will also feature The Bateman Brothers Jazz Band, an all-star group comprising of Alan Bateman (trumpet/vocals), Ian Bateman (trombone), Trevor Whiting (clarinet), Craig Milverton (piano), John Day (Bass), Steve Rushton (Drums) and Maggie Reeday (vocals). Their special guests for the Festival are Enrico Tommasso and Spats Langham.  Also part of Saturday’s big line-up is Gabby Young and Other Animals.  The 7-piece band, are the ringmasters of Circus Swing, a musical genre that fuses Swing Jazz, Eastern European beats and English Folk created with horn, wind and percussion instruments.  Closing Saturday is Sector 7, made up of seven talented musicians, amongst them, award-winning vocalist Sarah Ellen Hughes. Having only being on the jazz scene for two years they have already taken the musical world by storm, recording and releasing their EP, gaining critical acclaim, and being invited to perform at prestigious events and festivals across Europe.
Sunday starts in great style, music and film lovers of all ages will enjoy Terry Seabrook’s band Milestonesperforming a new film score at this year’s festival. Inspired by the Miles Davis soundtrack Lift to the Scaffold, Seabrook has written his own full-length jazz soundtrack, for Buster Keaton’s 1924 film Sherlock Jr. Milestoneswill perform live as the film is screened. Making their first appearance at the Southport Jazz festival are the award-winning Kairos 4Tet, a band born out of a desire to explore times past, present and future via music. Winners of 2011’s MOBO award for ‘Best Jazz Act’, they make a welcome addition to Sunday’s line-up.  The chart topping sensation the Joe Stilgoe Trio take the festival into Sunday evening, as one of the world’s finest singer-pianists Stilgoe released his critically acclaimed second album ‘We Look to The Stars’ last year.  Closing the festival is Australian musical virtuoso James Morrison, besides the trumpet, this multi-instrumentalist also plays trombone, euphonium, flugelhorn, tuba, saxophone and piano. Morrison has performed gigs in the world’s most famous jazz clubs, been commanded by royalty and political leaders, and has been awarded The Order of Australia for his services to the arts. James will perform with the Swingshift Big Band for the festival finale.
CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) will be running a beer festival alongside the three-day jazz event, showcasing a selection of real ales and perrys for the public to sample.
The Southport Jazz Festival for 2013 encompasses The Atkinson - Headline Gigs, The Jazz Festival Village at the Town Hall Gardens and The Fringe Festival across the town.
Follow all the latest festival news on the Southport Jazz Festival on twitter #southportjazz and facebook/The Atkinson

EVENT LISTINGS

Friday 10 May
The Nicola Farnon Quartet                                2.30pm
The Al Wood Nine                                               7pm
James Morton’s Porkchop                                 10pm

Saturday 11 May
Go Go Penguin                                                   11am
The Bateman Bothers Jazz Band                     2.30pm
Gabby Young and the Other Animals             7pm
Sector 7                                                               10pm

Sunday 12 May
Milestones Play to the Silent Screen                  11am
Kairos 4tet                                                               2.30pm
Joe Stilgoe Trio                                                       5pm
James Morrison with Swingshift Big Bang         8pm 

HOW TO BOOK

Southport Jazz Festival
Dates: 10-12 May 2013
Day and Weekend Festival Tickets are now on sale.

01704 533 333* or online at www.seftonarts.co.uk*
*Subject to booking fee.

Join The Atkinson mailing list at www.theatkinson.co.uk

The AtkinsonLord Street,
Southport
PR8 1DB

1 comment :

Mary said...

Cool. Thanks for providing these details. Do you know anything about southport hotels half board? I wanna spend holidays there.

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