Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Colltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18947 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 811 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 28.) 90.

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

September.

Tue 29: Tenderly: The Life & Times of Nat ‘King’ Cole @ Hepscott Parish Hall. 7:30pm. . £15.00., £12.00. (Early Bird advance ticket), £10.00. Off-Broadway production feat. Duane Forrest.
Tue 29: Red Kites Jazz @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller's Rest, Cockerton, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. For one week only the rehearsal night will be at the Traveller's Rest (open to the public).
Wed 30: Tenderly: The Life & Times of Nat ‘King’ Cole @ The Hearth, Horsley. 7:30pm. £15.00., £12.00. (Early Bird advance ticket), £10.00. Off-Broadway production feat. Duane Forrest.
Wed 30: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 30: New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds + Juliana Day & Manon McCoy + Helen Anahita Wilson @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. A BBC Introducing-Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.

October

Thu 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Rivkala @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 01: Hot Club de Heaton @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 01: The Scenic Route @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Alison Gill + Markrokosmos @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music (NFOJAIM).
Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Gilby & Hunter + Andy Champion @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:00pm. NFOJAIM.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. The Abbie Finn Trio augmented by Dean Stockdale (piano).
Fri 02: Alexia Gardner Trio @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 02: Zoe Rahman Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 8:00pm. NFOJAIM. SOLD OUT!

Sat 03: New Orleans Ragtime Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. Gavin Lee & co.
Sat 03: Anemone Quartet + Jeepe Zeeburg @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. NFOJAIM.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Caravan. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Struggle Buggy @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Free. Excellent blues band.
Sat 03: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. £12.50 (inc. bf). Two sets: 7:30-8:15pm & 8:45-9:30pm. ‘Swing Band Dance Night’.
Sat 03: Olie Brice Quartet + Alexander Hawkins + Harper Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:00pm. NFOJAIM.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 04: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Heugh Battery, Hartlepool. 11:00am-12 noon & 1:00-2:00pm.
Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 04: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Bill Watson (trumpet).
Sun 04: Sax Choir w. Rachel Musson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Rivkala + Ceitidh Mac + Thatcher & Knowles @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. A NFOJAIM event.
Sun 04: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. RESCHEDULED from September 27.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £3.00.

Mon 05: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Sunday, April 06, 2014

GIJF Day Two - The Spring Quartet. Sage Gateshead April 5

Joe Lovano (saxes); Esperanza Spalding (bs/vcl); Leo Genovese (pno); Jack DeJohnette (dms).
(Review by Lance).
On paper this was it! The session to end all sessions - the Jazz Cup Final. Four superstars on the one stage what could possibly go wrong?
Lovano a great tenor player, DeJohnette a living legend, Genovese an outstanding pianist and Spalding possibly the worlds best known double bassist, the ingredients were all there and yet...
For me it didn't click. Solowise they all excelled from time to time - Genovese in particular had an outing that brought back memories of a gig he did with Michael Janisch at the Lit and Phil a couple of years back. Lovano is undoubtedly a tenor titan but Toussaint left a longer lasting impression with me. DeJohnnette also had a tremendous solo and Spalding proved worthy of her reputation as a class act both bass-wise and in her vocalese excursions so what went wrong?
The material didn't grab me. Sure there was variety a-plenty but somehow it didn't hold me the way it should have done. I'm in the minority here I know but one can only write from a personal point of view. Perhaps if I hadn't heard Jean Touissaint earlier, or the Spring Quartet had been playing in the more intimate confines of Hall Two or I'd backed Balthazar King each way it would have different.
With Touissaint I felt as though I was a part of what was happening, here It was as if I had my nose rubbed up against the windowpane.
Still I have to confess that several hundred others disagreed with me so what do I know?!
Lance.
at

5 comments :

Debra Milne said...

Agree with you Lance, as did a number of people who left the gig before the end....

Sunday, April 06, 2014 12:48:00 pm
Jude Murphy (on F/b) said...

I liked them.

Monday, April 07, 2014 12:33:00 am
Ken Drew (on Twitter) said...

Good review by Lance - it didn't do it for me either. Expectations were high - delivery erratic. How come ?

Monday, April 07, 2014 12:54:00 pm
Jamie said...

I agree about the Spring Quartet but have always found Neset a more original, exciting and expressive tenorist than Toussaint.

Tuesday, April 08, 2014 4:00:00 pm
Anonymous said...

We wanted to leave after the first two songs, but we were stuck in the middle of Row C and didn't want to inconvenience people. We actually endured an hour of it in the end - and endured is the right word. The people in the row were massively pissed off when we asked them to stand to let us out and we got some filthy, horrible looks. I don't doubt their individual musicianship but the compositions were poor, overpowering and you're right, it just didn't work.

Thursday, April 10, 2014 10:00:00 pm

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