Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

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

Sunday, June 08, 2014

Newcastle Community Green Festival Day 2 - June 8.

(Review by Lance).
Yesterday it rained - didn't it rain children? Yup it rained all the time. Today was a different ball game - the sun shone and everyone was happy - at least from the ankles up. Yesterday's deluge, which had brought the whole clambake to an early close, had also left it's mark on the waterlogged grassland.
If you're heading for Glastonbury this was the place to get acclimatised! Those with enough savvy had brought groundsheets and folding chairs. I didn't have that savvy! 
Still the atmosphere was good. Young ladies were going around giving Free Hugs - I took them up and got seconds as well!
The Allendale Brewery's ales had survived the Trans-Pennine journey and I made their trip worthwhile  (hic!)
Our own Ann Alex was "manning" the WEA stall and hinted at a possible Jazz Appreciation course in the offing from these champions of the proletariat. 
Out front the music was rocking and rolling with the Backyard Rhythm Orchestra before Hannabiell and Midnight Blue took us to the Restaurant at the End of the Universe and back (private joke!) In actual fact we left after Hannabiell's set - which was only perfect (when is it ever not?) as by this time, I was almost up to my armpits and I thought that, if I've got to go, drowned in a sea of sludge, then what better way to depart this mortal coil than by listening to Hannabiell? As I submerged into the unknown depths of Leazes Park. I looked up towards St. James Park soccer stadium and thought that, if I die I'll never ever see Newcastle "United" become tenth in the Premier League again! With that thought in mind, I found the strength to escape my confines and, eventually, the comforting surrounds of the nearby Trent House (£2 a pint on Sundays!)
Sounds silly, but I'll be back next year!
Lance.

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