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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Bellavana @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30-10:00pm. Free. A Late Shows event.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
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: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

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

Saturday, April 27, 2013

SNJO "The Incredible Stan Kenton". Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. April 25.


Tommy Smith (pictured). (md/ten), Konrad Wiszniewski (ten), Ruaridh Pattison, Martin Kershaw (alt), Bill Fleming (bar); Ryan Quigley, Cameron Jay, Tom MacNiven, James Marr, Lorne Cowieson (tpts); Chris Grieve, Phil O'Malley, Kevin Garrity, Kieran McLeod, Michael Owers; Steve Hamilton (pno), Calum Gourlay (bs), Alyn Cosker (dms).
(Review by Lance)
If the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra's In The Spirit of Duke is currently a front runner for my CD of the Year then this concert could well be my Gig of the Year!
Kenton had his fans and his detractors over the years and some of his works did seem to be somewhat beyond the pale at the time. However, listening to them in retrospect, even the abstract things like City of Glass are now well within reach. What was never in doubt was that when the Kenton band decided to swing they certainly could generate that elusive quality.
Tonight's performance concentrated very much on that aspect of the Kenton bible and it was right on the money!
Artistry in Percussion (Cosker), Cherokee, featuring the amazing Ruaridh Pattison on alto. Scottish young jazz musician of 2011 Pattison rolled through the changes with the fluency of an Art Pepper or a  Pete King. Bernie's Tune (Gourlay), Interlude (Hamilton), a magnificent Spring is Here by leader Tommy, Mulligan's Swinghouse and a surprise String of Pearls. I misheard the announcement as String of Perils and, upon reflection, it might have been an appropriate title as they took Glenn Miller to places the Major never dreamed existed!
At this point I stopped taking notes as wave after wave of sound engulfed me. Various blasts by Quigley on Intermission Riff and Peanut Vendor. Martin Kershaw and Konrad holding their own on Fascinating Rhythm and I've Got You Under My Skin, Bill Fleming's Rhapsody in Blue, Concerto to end all Concertos. The trombones, the trumpets  - man this was like open day at the distillery!
And there was more - so so much more but space and time precludes it so you'll just have to catch the band tonight (Saturday) at Glasgow or tomorrow at Stirling.
Viva Kenton! Viva SNJO!
Lance.
PS: SNJO Bring In The Spirit of Duke to the Gala Theatre Durham on July 8 - don't miss it.
STOP PRESS! All About Jazz name Tommy Smith as their Jazzman of the Day!

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