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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

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

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Gavin Lee’s Dixieland Band @ The New Inn, Durham. March 18

Gavin Lee (clarinet & tenor saxophone), Alf Langthorne (keyboards), Tom Darbyshire (double bass) & Jimmy ‘Stix’ Robinson (drums) + June Francis (vocals)
(Review by Russell)
The New Inn, in the heart of Durham City, drew a crowd of Durham University’s Bright Young Things to watch Chelsea v Drogba in the Champions’ League on big screen tvs and to sit and drink beer, chat and remain oblivious to the jazz band in the corner. Gavin Lee’s Dixieland Band set up with a minimum of fuss, covering, then pushing the pool table to one side – a familiar tale of the well-appointed jazz venue!
A sprightly Lady Be Good followed by When Mabel Comes in the Room (from the Broadway hit Mack and Mabel) warmed-up Lee’s liquorice stick ahead of Fats Waller’s Stealin’ Apples. The clarinettist remarked that Peanuts Hucko regularly played the tune, adding: Peanuts wasn’t his real name… it was Cashew. So, we got humour in addition to some hot clarinet! Vocalist June Francis got up to sing the first of several numbers – Bei Mir Bist du Schoen or as Lee quipped: If you don’t understand Yiddish that was ‘My Beard Needs a Shave’. Francis stayed on for a bossa version of This Masquerade. The first set flew by and drew to a close Basie-style Swingin’ the Blues.
Another pint of Taylor’s Landlord (rarely seen on the bar these days, yet this was the second sighting in three days of the legendary brew, the first being at the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle) and a chat with Gavin Lee about all things jazz made for an enjoyable interval.
Second set, football forgotten, Herbert ‘Happy’ Lawson’s Anytime led to Moonlight in Shotton Colliery, Herman’s Woodchopper’s Ball and with the return of June Francis, Lee switched effectively to tenor on Blue Moon, a breezy Blue Skies and an excellent take on A Weaver of Dreams.
The evening’s entertainment ranged far and wide from any Dixieland strictures; The Purple Rose of Cairo (Lee clarinet), the rhythm section – Alf Langthorne (piano), Tom Darbyshire (double bass) and ‘Stix’ Robinson (drums) – played it rumba on Night and Day and the Van Heusen/Burke classic Here’s That Rainy Day heard Francis and once more the tenor of Lee. Good beer, good crack, good jazz. Get along to the New Inn, nine o’clock Tuesdays.       
Russell.                     

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