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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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

17630 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 904 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (Dec. 20).

From This Moment On ...

December

Wed 25: Wot? No jazz!

Thu 26: The Boneshakers @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. The 17th annual Boneshakers’ Shindig.

Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. Business as usual!.
Fri 27: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 27: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sat 28: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 11:30am. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 28: Fri 20: Castillo Nuevo @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy, Rich Herdman & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 28: Ray Stubbs R & B All-Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Stepney Bank, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sun 29: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 29: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.

Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington (National Trust), Cambo, Morpeth NE61 4AR. 12 noon & 2:00pm. Admission to site £19.00.
Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Archie Brown & Friends @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00-8:00pm. 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

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Northern Line Showcase @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. April 22, 2013

(Review by Russell)
Jazz North, the new jazz development agency for the north of England, announced an open submission scheme designed to highlight the best of the region’s jazz scene. Live Theatre in Newcastle hosted the second of three showcase evenings (ACV represented the north east at the first show in Liverpool) with four bands to hear. The event, open to all, attracted promoters, musicians and a few die-hard fans of the music. Jazz North’s influence (perhaps it was luck!) secured the prestigious venue for the evening.
HSQ+1 opened the programme. A quartet from Manchester, this was a first opportunity for a Tyneside audience to hear Jim Collins (alto & baritone saxophones), Will Lenton (tenor & baritone saxophones), Helen Pillinger (alto & tenor saxophones) and  Helena Summerfield (soprano & baritone saxophones). The quartet (+1, a drummer), differed from the classic jazz horn quartet (World Saxophone Quartet, 29th Street, Saxophonics) in that a prominent folk strand characterised their set.
Space Flight pushed the boundaries prompting the But is it jazz? debate. A quartet of three young musicians - James Mainwaring (tenor), Tom Adams (guitar) and Radek Rudnicki (electronics) - processed their sounds through table-top and pedal board gadgetry. Cavernous sounds echoed around the room as the fourth member of the quartet - Kuba Hader (video projection) - induced nightmarish memories of Tangerine Dream. Cool, or perhaps not.
Third on the bill - Shatner’s Bassoon - had visited Tyneside earlier in the year and made a big impression. Yet another product of the Leeds’ scene, this lot were great fun. Loud, talented, tight as, rehearsed to the nth degree and given to frequent volcanic eruptions, Shatner’s Bassoon filled the air with sulpherous sounds of molten lava. The Hub, Zappa and Zorn skewered their victims with a dead-eye rapier thrust and this six-piece will chase you down should you be brave (foolish?) enough to put your head above the parapet. Shatner’s Bassoon: Ollie Dover (tenor), Johnny Richards (keyboards), Craig Scott (guitar), Mick Bardon (electric bass), Andrew Lisle (drums) & Joost Hendrickx (drums). The final band - Ariya Afrobeat Arkestra - didn’t quite do what the name suggested. Not so much Sun Ra more like Fela Kuti. Incessant rhythms (Paul Baxter, bass, excellent) combined with riffing horns (Si Nixon, impressive trumpet) made for a danceable finale, if you were so inclined. The nonet: Peter Williams (tenor sax & bass clarinet), Leon Johnson (tenor), Martyn Strange (baritone), Si Nixon (trumpet), Taz Modi (keyboards), Neil Innes (guitar), Paul Baxter (electric bass), Joost Hendrickx (drums), Kris Wright (percussion). The Northern Line road show   moves on to a venue in Yorkshire (date and venue to be confirmed).   
Russell.                                      

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