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

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).

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Jordan Jackson @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.80 (inc. bf); £15.40 (inc. bf).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Friday, February 21, 2014

Zara McFarlane @ Sage Gateshead. February 20.

Zara McFarlane (vcl); Binker Golding (ten); ???(pno); Max Luthart (bs); Moses Boyd (dms).
(Review by Lance).
Hall Two was ground floor full. I guess Hall One did better - Richard and Adam of  Britain's Got Talent "fame"! Well, for my money, there was a lot more talent in Hall Two tonight!
I'd reviewed Zara's CD If You Knew Her earlier this month so I knew this was going to be a cracking gig and it certainly was. The majority of the numbers were from the current CD plus a couple from her previous effort, Until Tomorrow. In fact my favourite of the whole concert was from that earlier CD - More Than Mine. Perhaps it was the inspiration behind the song that got me. A tale of seeing your ex in a supermarket with somebody new and trying to hide behind the vegetable rack but being spotted. This girl sings about life!
But they were all good. Police and Thieves (The Clash), Nina Simone's Plain Gold Ring plus a host of originals by the lady herself. Her pitching is impeccable over a very wide range and her scatting reminiscent of Ella, Sarah and Anita at their best.
As if this wasn't enough, Binker Golding blew great tenor sax. His interchanges with Zara = excitement unlimited¹°. Luthart and Boyd kept the rhythm section flowing, totally relaxed. I didn't catch the name of the pianist. It certainly wasn't Peter Edwards who plays on the disc. 
A superb evening - Richard and Adam? Who needs you?
Well it seemed just about every taxi in town did. There were so many taxis outside of Sage Gateshead that my poor Quaylink bus was marooned amidst them unable to move in either direction until the Hall One show was over. Nothing for me to do but to leg it over to the 27 bus stop. Missed the bus by about 10 seconds. So What? Up the bank to the Metro for the South Shields train. Missed it by about 5 seconds!
Despite all this, I wouldn't have missed the concert even if I'd had to walk home.
Lance.
PS: A special mention of Shirley (and her husband) who I met during the interval. Shirley came to my rescue when I told her my pen had ran out. She gave me hers - without that act of kindness this review couldn't have been written!
Thank you Shirley.
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