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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

18037 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 458 of them this year alone and, so far, 36 this month (June 11).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Sun 15: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:00pm.
Sun 15: Under the Wellie @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Hannah Brine Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free. Concert performance (open to the public)..
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Gareth John & the SOS Big Band @ The Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £25.00.

Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: David Gray's Flextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £21.50. ‘Time After Time’.br/> Fri 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 20: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

Sat 21: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. 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

Monday, May 13, 2013

Gabriel Mit Drei @ Bridge Hotel, Newcastle May 12.

Gabriele Heller (vcl); Steve Glendinning (gtr); Dave Parker (bs); Paul Beck (pno).
(Review by Lance)
I've noted the rise of Gabriele (Gabby) from her first tentative steps at the Chilli - that breeding ground for so much talent - via her increasingly confident appearances at The Caff, the gigs that are now less infrequent, and on to her emergence as a contender. This was very much in evidence tonight with a performance that was verging on jazz theatre. The jazz was in the material, the improvised vocal choruses, the varying note timbres and the unexpected intervals which could be a fleeting octave plus jump or a surprising, indefinable, shot in the dark that miraculously hit the mark.
The theatre came in the hand movement, the facial expression, the body language which said almost as much as the lyric. Then there were the introductions to the songs... Done intelligently, and not without humour, they made us like the song before we'd even heard it!  
Steve Glendinning played some cracking solos and his accompaniments were sublime. Paul Beck dodged Passport Control to come down from Scotland for the gig and he proved his worth with sensitive backing and good solos. Dave provided the foundation with his accurate bass work and the unit gelled from the opening All or Nothing at All through to the final You'd be so Nice to Come Home to. The cornucopia in between included a stunning version of Rosemary Clooney's immortal classic - Come on-a my House, Falling in Love Again sung in 3 different languages; English, German and Scat much to the delight of a German couple in the audience, Lullaby of Birdland - shades of Anita O'Day - Softly as in a Morning Sunrise and many many more.
If you haven't heard Gabby and the band yet, watch out for them.
Lance.

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