Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Strictly Smokin’ quintet + House of the Black Gardenia @ Sunset Festival, Transmission Dynamics, Cramlington. 5:00-9:30pm. Free. Tickets: Eventbrite. Multi-bill.
Sat 04: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm. Free.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

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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