Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18219 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 73 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 24), 73

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 30: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 30: Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Feat. Bill Bruford.
Fri 30: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 30: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Northern Edge Coffee, Silver St., Berwick. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00 + £1.00. bf (www.wegottickets.com). Coulthurst (trumpet); Joel Steadman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums).

Sat 31: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 31: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet + guest Bill Watson (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. adv. Gospel/soul.
Sun 01: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sun 01: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker @ the Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

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

Thursday, September 05, 2013

CD Preview: Blue Touch Paper ‘Drawing Breath’

Release Date: 14 October Label: Provocateur Records
Colin Towns (Mask Orchestra): composer, keyboards; Mark Lockheart (Polar Bear, Loose Tubes) saxophones; Chris Montague (Troyka, Kit Downes) guitars; Benny Greb (Stoppok, Ron Spielman) drums; Stephan Maass  (Kruder & Dorfmeister, Randy Brecker) percussion & electronics; Edward Maclean (Peter Fox, Nils Wülker) bass.
Blue Touch Paper will be live at the Vortex on 24th February 2014 as part of a full UK tour (dates to be announced)
Two years in the making, with more that 60 demo tracks recorded, Drawing Breath is the highly anticipated follow up to Blue Touch Paper’s debut album ‘Stand Well Back’ – an album warmly received by the press and the subject of some stunning reviews. Continuing the Blue Touch Paper soundscape, Drawing Breath once again demonstrates an adventurous, visionary and powerful way forward, something we have come to expect from band-leader Colin Towns. Although the trademark cinematic moments, elements of jazz, rock and classical music are present as they were on ‘Stand Well Back’, Drawing Breath demonstrates a developing energy within the band, with powerful compositions that continue to push the band forward both technically and creatively. This is a remarkably textured album too, full of unexpected turns and contrasting moments of terrific energy and stillness that is quite breathtaking. With a nod to his work in the theatre (he has worked extensively with Royal Shakespeare Company’s Terry Hands), Towns has also produced an animated film that accompanies the track ‘Fair is Foul’, by animator Michael Tang based on the witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth (see link below).
 “Towns’ music is a rich brew of Miles Davis-like funk, minimalistic energy and gleeful piano vamps” The Telegraph
“One of the most original jazz and crossover composers in Europe” The Guardian
“…catchy hooks, knotty rhythms and moodscapes…” Mojo
ABOUT COLIN TOWNS
Colin Towns is one of the UK’s most talented composers and musicians and is prolific not only in the world of jazz, but also that of film and TV composition. Vastly underrated in his home country, much of his work has taken him to Europe, where he enjoys enormous success. Best known in the UK as the composer for the highly successful Doc Martin TV series, his CV is a staggering list of achievements, from his early days in Gillan to his many film soundtracks (The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, The Puppet Masters, Essex Boys and the now cult soundtrack to Full Circle, aka The Haunting of Julia), soundtracks for TV drama and animation (Doc Martin, Ghostboat, Cold Blood, Half Broken Things, Our Friends in the North, Fungus the Bogeyman, The Crow Road) his projects with some of Europe’s most exciting big bands (the Hamburg based NDR Bigband; Frankfurt’s HR Bigband; The Bohuslän Big Band from Sweden and Orchestra Jazz della Sardegna) and his own Mask Orchestra with whom  he has recorded 6 albums not to mention commercials, theatre productions and documentaries.
LINKS:
Blue Touch Paper - Promo - 'Drawing Breath Moments'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC-4FCFQO_A
Blue Touch Paper – Animation for ‘Fair is Foul’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb57HMDT9Ss

www.bluetouchpaper.com
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