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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 23 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Jan. 9).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Sun 12: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 12: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 12: King Bees @ The Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.
Sun 12: Dave Bottomley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar.
Sun 12: Jack Pearce Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 13: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 13: Raymond MacDonald & Andy Champion @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 14: Zoë Gilby Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 15: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 15: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 15: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 15: Hot Club of Heaton @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘third Wednesday in the month’ session. TBC.

Thu 16: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 17: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 17: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 17: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £TBC.
Fri 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 17: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 18: Alter Ego + Jamie Toms/Graham Don Duo @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 18: Delta Prophets @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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, April 09, 2013

GIJF - Day 2: Northern Spirits. Ian Carr's Northumbrian Sketches; Lighthouse Trio; Tim Garland, Northern Sinfonia - Songs to the North Sky

(Review by Debra M.)
When the GIJF programme was issued some time ago, it was frustrating that the 2 gigs we most wanted to see clashed on the Saturday night… Birelli Lagrene vs Lighthouse Trio & Northern Sinfonia. Being democratic, & also trying to accommodate the teenager, we gave him the casting vote. Northern Spirits it was….
The first part of the programme was a performance of late north east trumpeter Ian Carr’s ‘Northumbrian Sketches’. Featured soloists were Henry Lowther on trumpet and flugelhorn, Tim Whitehead on soprano saxophone & bass clarinet, and Andy Champion on double bass, with Northern Sinfonia conducted by Clark Rundell. The four sections – Open Country, Interiors, Disjunctive Boogie, Spirit of Place – gave ample opportunity for the horn virtuosos, yet this was integrated effectively with the strings of the Sinfonia, many of whom appeared to be relishing the experience.
Following the break, we were then treated to a short set by the Lighthouse Trio, with Whitley Bay’s Tim Garland on saxophones, Gwilym Simcock on piano & Asaf Sirkis on percussion. Garland was clearly thrilled to be on home territory, and he & Simcock were engaging personalities. Garland first encountered Simcock as a student when he was teaching at the Royal Academy, and they have been playing together ever since. This was probably the favourite set for the jazzers  – outstanding musicianship from all 3, exciting and unpredictable, yet remaining accessible – so maybe they won over some of Northern Sinfonia’s fans in the audience.
And finally, Tim Garland’s ‘Songs To The North Sky’, a world premiere in which Lighthouse Trio and Northern Sinfonia combined. Garland introduced the work of 5 pieces, each in 2 sections & partly improvised, beginning with ‘The Road Into Night’ and ending with ‘Sage and Time’. There were so many textures and moods, and whilst the local influences of the Tyne, the sea and Northumberland may have been predictable, the music was not. An utterly compelling journey.  The Sage should get the The Lighthouse Trio back as soon as they can, and give them the full house they deserve.
Debra.

2 comments :

Nigel Tully said...

I completely agree - The Lighthiouse Trio deserve a full show of their own at The Sage. For me they are the mist stimulating and impressive small group on the jazz scene at the moment - every member of the trio a world-class virtuoso, and the fact that they have been eworking together for more than 10 years shows in an extraordinary degree of musical empathy. Wonderful music !

Stocksfield Jazzer said...

Thanks for this review, Debra. Due to circumstances beyond my control(as they say), I was unable to attend this gig.

I would reiterate your suggestion of a return visit from the Lighthouse trio ASAP. Their eponymous CD is a masterpiece. A recording of Songs to the North Sky must surely follow!

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