Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey (to Terence Blanchard): ''You ain't Miles find your own shit to do!'' (DownBeat May, 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

18504 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 368 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 7 ) 22

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

May

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Hey Remember This @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 14: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Philip Larkin’s Jazz Experiment.
Thu 14: Jerron Paxton @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Superb country blues.
Thu 14: Solcade @ the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle. 7:00pm. EP launch. Rivkala & co..
Thu 14: Jacob Egglestone @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass); Jack Littlewood (drums) & guests.
Thu 14: 58 Jazz Collective @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: 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 15: Conor Emery Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Line-up Emery (trombone); Alix Shepherd (piano); John Pope (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01 adv., £15.00 on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Puppini Sisters @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!

Sat 16: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner. God Bless the Child - Lady Day!. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 16: Kaberry Big Band @ the Seahorse Pub, Hillheads Rd., Whitley Bay NE23 8HR. From 7:30pm. £15.00
Sat 16: Lady Nade @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. ‘Lady Nade sings Nina Simone’.

Sun 17: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Forum Theatre, Billingham. 7:30pm.
Sun 17: QOW Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Spike Wells, Riley Stone-Lonergan & Eddie Myer.

Mon 18: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 18: Mark Williams Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 19: GoGo Penguin + Daudi Matsiko @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £22.00 + £4.40 bf.
Tue 19: Danny Lowndes’ Hot Club @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £5.00 bf.
Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Mark Robertson (drums).

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Rae Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band @ Jazz at the Fell. June 21

Dave Rae (banjo & vocals), Liz Bacon (clarinet), Jim Blenkin (trombone & vocals), John Robinson (double bass) & Paul Bacon (drums)
(Review by Russell)
Gateshead British Legion, the current home to Jazz at the Fell, sweltered on this mid summer night. The Rae Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band, staunch supporters of the jazz club over many years, fulfilled this most recent engagement as a quintet due to Mac Rae being indisposed. Dave Rae remarked that many years ago he worked with the Mighty Joe Young band but a stone’s throw along the road at the Honeysuckle pub (long-since closed and due to open as an open-all-hours ‘express’ supermarket). He further remarked that Alan Price turned up to hear the band. On hearing this a wag at the Legion asked: Aye, but did he stay?
Price, Burdon and co were nowhere to be seen at the Legion, those present were hard core regulars. The Rae Brothers played it strict New Orleans and Brahms’ Cradle Song set the tempo. Dave Rae took the vocal on Dinah and again on WC Handy’s Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor. Legendary names - George Lewis, Sammy Morgan - peppered Rae’s informative and entertaining introductions, not least a thumb-nail sketch of prolific Tin Pan Alley composer Harry MacGregor Woods. The tunesmith’s I’m Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover (1927) illustrated tight ensemble work, the fine front line playing of Liz Bacon, clarinet and  Jim Blenkin, trombone and Paul Bacon’s master class of New Orleans’ style drumming.
From New Orleans to Ascot. What? Yes, Ascot. A late comer marched in wearing a top hat. Well, one does, doesn’t one? A spiritual dating from 1892 put us on Higher Ground and we strode to the interval bar with Marie. Another Guinness, a strip of raffle tickets and the Brolly Dollies were readying themselves to strut their stuff.
We Shall Walk Through the Streets of the City (Rae vocals) vied for the tune of the night (standing comparison with Rendezvous Jazz’ reading of the number earlier in the day). Liz Bacon’s clarinet shone on St Louis Blues and Dave Rae’s vocals on Punch Miller’s Long Distance Blues were worth travelling a distance to hear. An evening of first class New Orleans’ jazz. Next Friday (June 28) get along to the Legion to hear the Vieux Carré Jazzmen.        
Russell.              

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