Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Strictly Smokin’ quintet + House of the Black Gardenia @ Sunset Festival, Transmission Dynamics, Cramlington. 5:00-9:30pm. Free. Tickets: Eventbrite. Multi-bill.
Sat 04: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm. Free.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: 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 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Beverley Beirne Quartet @ The Lit and Phil

Beverley Beirne (vcl); Graham Hearn (pno); Ian Mann (bs); Ronnie Bottomley (dms).
The band drove up from Leeds with 6,000 fans in their wake - sadly, they were football fans heading for St. James Park. None of them dropped off at the Lit and Phil. Nor, for that matter, did the scores of aspiring jazz singers from the north east drop in either. I'm not going to call them "Wannabees" because, if they really do want to be they should have been here tonight.
It was a masterclass in singing and if Leeds United had  played as well as this band and singer did they wouldn't have lost 2-0!
However, maybe those aspirants had better things to do than listen to a superb singer bewitching us with Beautiful Love, You and the Night and the Music, Nature Boy or You Made me Love You. This latter tune was written 100 years ago and Beverley sang it with no little movement of her hips. I swear the gentleman in the portrait on the wall behind her had a gleam in his eye - I know I did!
Something Good, Squeeze Me, Trouble is a Man - just voice and piano - was merely sensational. Cheek to Cheek was sensational plus. On drums, Ronnie Bottomley restricted himself to brushes and yet managed to swing more than a lot of the stickmen I've heard recently. For Mancini's  Slow Hot Winds he proved equally adept on mallets.
A knockout opening to the second set. Totally unaccompanied, Bev gave us a medley of When Your Smiling/Smile and Make Someone Happy with ne'er a quarter tone gang awry. Some singers can't even manage it with a band behind them!
The trio returned for a swinging Them There Eyes, Inchworm - a tune I can live without (apologies to Bev, Danny Kaye and Frank Loesser) I Didn't Know What Time it Was, Devil May Care, Walk On By, You're Looking at Me - a tune Bev picked up from Cleo - and I Only Have Eyes For You. I only caught a few bars of this as the 27 was due and it was imperative I beat the footy fans out of town.
It was a great gig - apologies for not mentioning piano and bass but they were absolutely the tops - the Eiffel Tower no less!
Lance.
at

3 comments :

Beverley Beirne (on F/b) said...

Thank you so much Lance Liddle for coming along to the gig tonight and for this fabulous live review! I'm really grateful and it was so lovely to meet you and what a superb venue and the folks there were so attentive. Hope to see you again sometime soon!

Thursday, September 26, 2013 7:26:00 AM
Anonymous said...

Lance from Ann Alex,
Sorry Sir but as an aspiring singer I had a good reason not to be at this gig. We singers have very wide tastes, and I for one was at the Sage to see a dramatic version of the folk ballad 'Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard'. I'd like to bet that Ms Beirne woiuld understand and it was unlucky that the 2 gigs clashed. I'll take the next chance I get to hear Ms Beirne.

Thursday, September 26, 2013 10:20:00 PM
Lance said...

Sorry I missed that one Ann!

Thursday, September 26, 2013 10:24:00 PM

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