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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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 16: MOBO Song @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 12 noon. Free, performances on the concourse. Line-up inc. Jazz Attack (on stage time TBC) & Jambone (12:20pm).
Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. .

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Matt Forster Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Jazz Milestones - 1975.
Thu 20: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 20: Orange Claw Hammer + Peony @ The Globe, Newcastle.7:30pm. Orange Claw Hammer play Captain Beefheart.
Thu 20: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Featuring special guest Zoë Gilby.

Fri 21: JazzMain @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. TBC.
Fri 21: Emma Rawicz w. Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30pm-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 22: Mississippi MacDonald @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Blues.
Sat 22: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm. £16.50. SOLD OUT!
Sat 22: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

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

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Jazz North East Update

8.00PM FRIDAY 8TH FEBRUARY
ALISTER SPENCE QUARTET + WATTS & WESTON
Raymond MacDonald (saxes); Alister Spence (piano); Joe Williamson (bass); Chris Cantillo (drums) //
Trevor Watts (alto & soprano saxes); Veryan Weston (piano)
Alister Spence from Australia and his Scots/Canadian/Swedish ensemble were the first band we ever promoted at the Lit and Phil and, much to our delighted amazement, we achieved a virtual full house. 
The Watts and Weston duo, on the other hand, will be first time visitors to Newcastle. Which is surprising considering the length of time these two veterans of the British and international free improvisation scenes have been active. They deliver a style of improv which combines lyricism with a deep interest in African rhythms.
8.00PM WEDNESDAY 13TH FEBRUARY
ROBERT MITCHELL + COREY MWAMBA
Robert Mitchell (piano) // Corey Mwamba (vibes)
A very welcome return to the region for two superbly creative musicians who will perform first solo, before coming together at the end of the evening as a duo.
Robert Mitchell's jazz pedigree is well established through work with Courtney Pine's seminal 90s black big band, Jazz Warriors,  his own longstanding trio and sextet, Panacea, and a more recently established duo with the Cuban violinist, Omar Puente.  This tour, mounted to promote his new album The Glimpse and culminating in his own Leftitude Festival in London, presents Robert as a solo performer but a soloist with the surprising difference that all the pieces performed are for only the left hand.
Robert's classical training made him aware of the two century tradition of left handed piano in classical music. What surprised him was to find that a number of major jazz artists - Bill Evans, Art Tatum and Phineas Newborn Jnr among them -  had also performed and recorded left handed. 
Corey Mwamba performs with both hands, with a great sense of humour and with highly developed communication skills which have enabled him to win over doubters through his accessible approach to free improvisation. A regular visitor to Tyneside since 2010 with bands including the Alexander Hawkins Ensemble and most recently in the Jazz North East - curated Anglo French quartet, Sonsale, Corey combines his activities as an improviser with composition, for which he often draws on historic themes. 
Examples are 'Orrery' inspired by the 1776 Joseph Wright of Derby painting 'A Philosopher Lecturing on an Orrery' and commissioned in 2012 by Derby Jazz, and 'Heralds,' partly researched at the Lit and Phil Library in Newcastle. The former piece was performed by his trio with soloists of the stature of Jan Kopinski (back in Newcastle with Mustard Pie in March), Tony Kofi and Julian Siegal.
There are major articles on both artists in the current issue of Jazz UK, available to read online via the Jazz Services website at www.jazzservices.org.uk
Please note the venue's lack of accessibility for users of wheelchairs.
NEWCASTLE LIT & PHIL, 23 WESTGATE ROAD, NEWCASTLE NE1 1SE
Tickets £10.00 & £8.00 concessions (seniors, claimants & young people) can be reserved in advance at the venue (Tel. 0191 232). Available on the door from 7.30pm. We regret to say that the venue is not fully accessible to users of wheelchairs.

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