Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (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

18585 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 449 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 31) 103

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

June

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 04: Postmodern Jukebox @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Thu 04: Webster’s Ragtime Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £17.00. Trio from Texas, USA.
Thu 04: King Bees @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues excellence!
Thu 04: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 04: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 05: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 05: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 3:20pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Fri 05: House of the Black Gardenia: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). House of the Black Gardenia evening performance. Day 1/3.
Fri 05: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band + IKS Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £24.00. Big band double bill. IKS Big Band (Germany).
Fri 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00

Sat 06: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 2:40pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sat 06: Struggle Buggy @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 06: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 06: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Dry Water Arts, Amble. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £15.00.
Sat 06: IKS Big Band: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). IKS Big Band evening performance. Day 2/3.
Sat 06: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Northumbrian Revival, West Benridge Farm, nr. Morpeth NE61 3RZ. 7:30-9:30pm. £21.47 (£2.77. child). 82nd D-Day anniversary event.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 06: FILM: The Magic City: Birmingham According to Sun Ra @ The Burnlaw Centre, Hexham NE47 8HF. A weekend event in association with Star & Shadow Cinema. Film screening at 9:30pm. £28.02. Dir. Guillaume Maupin & Pablo Guarise.

Sun 07: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 11:00am. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sun 07: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Steve Walker (trumpet).
Sun 07: Joe Steels: Celebrating Wes @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Trio: Joe Steels, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Eddie Gripper Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Gripper (piano); Clem Saynor (double bass); Patrick Barrett-Donlon (drums). Americana album tour.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Magpies of Swing: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). Magpies of Swing afternoon performance. Day 3/3.
Sun 07: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 5:40pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sun 07: Webster’s Ragtime Trio @ The Ship Inn, Low Newton. 7:00pm. £12.50. Trio from Texas, USA.
Sun 07: Salty Dog @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:00pm. £5.00. Performance in the Studio venue.
Sun 07: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Riding Mill Village Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 07: Swing Manouche @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Feat. Steve McGarvie (clarinet).

Mon 08: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 11:50am. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Mon 08: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 08: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 5:15pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Mon 08: Dave Bristow Quintet @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £22.00., £11.00., £5.50. Bristow (piano); Christian Altehülshorst (trumpet); Félix Hardouin (alto sax); Gabriel Pierre (double bass); Guillaume Prévost (drums).

Tue 09: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 09: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 8:10pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.

Saturday, June 07, 2014

Urgent Warning For Jazzers! - Folk Music Alert

(By Ann Alex).
Jazzers should be warned that there’s lots of folk music on at Sage Gateshead today (Saturday June 7) as it’s the 24 Hours-of-Folk, a world record attempt folk session, from 10am Saturday morning until 10am on Sunday.  It starts with the Unthanks and a student band, The Teacups, and other folkies eg myself, have been sponsored to help out so that the music is continuous.  Many well known folk musicians will be performing, such as Alistair Anderson, and Taffy Thomas, who is a storyteller.  The aim is to raise money for Sage Gateshead, which is suffering from funding cutbacks.
The Jazz Coop workshop is also at Sage Gateshead during Saturday afternoon (The theme is rhythm, with Judith Thompson and Steve Glendinning) so I hope the 2 groups don’t meet!  Lance says he’s giving the folk a miss – why am I not surprised?
But seriously, I know there are many jazzers like myself with a foot, or rather an instrument, in both camps and I think it’s going to be a great day all round.  Saturday is the culmination of a really good week of folk, as there have been free concerts Monday-Thursday, when the Folk and Traditional Music Degree students were being assessed. It’s worth keeping an ear open at these concerts, as local jazz musicians such as Simon Stephenson and Rob Heron both emerged via this degree.  This year there weren’t many obvious jazz elements, but we were treated to wonderful women singers, Portuguese piping, lots of fiddles and guitars, and more use of drum kits than you’d expect.  The final performance on Friday was by someone on highland pipes, not my favourite instrument, but it was actually tremendous, with 2 highland pipers in spine-tingling harmony and also a piece with highland pipes and double bass, which really worked well.  I kid you not.
It’s all music, folks.
Anne Alex.
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4 comments :

Russell said...

I left the Jazz Café on a high after a fantastic gig featuring Hutton, Champion and Carnegie. I wandered over to GOTH (Gateshead Old Town Hall) to see how the marathon was going. About fifty people in round midnight. A bloke in a waistcoat, bow tie etc was telling a story about a bloke who sawed off his feet. A piper, Paul Knox, piped-up intermittently. The interminable story - I was losing the will to live - came to an end. Cue two female singers, audience participation at the chorus, folkie foot-stomping. At around ten minutes to one I realised why I love jazz as much as I do and went off into the night.

Sunday, June 08, 2014 11:41:00 am
Ann Alex said...

Russell,
I left the Saturday Jazz Workshop on a high after studying 'Bernie's Tune' and I left the 24 hours of Folk on a high just before you arrived! I had 2 highs with the added bonus that the 24 hours of folk had raised funds for Sage Gateshead, so that both folk and jazz can continue. Long may both go on!
Maybe you didn't listen to the storytelling closely enough. The nearest comparison that many people would remember is the storytelling of Dave Allen the comedian. Storytelling is used in schools now to teach children how to deal with bullying and abuse. Ann Alex

Monday, June 09, 2014 12:53:00 pm
Roly said...

I must admit up to a few years ago I took little interest in 'folk music' apart from the local dialect songs which I've liked going back to Alex Glasgow & Co. My loss! Neil Harland played me some of Chris Stout's music - wonderful stuff and very sophisticated (complex time signatures no problem for one small example) - swings like the clappers, gorgeous lyrical melodies and so on. I realised I was maybe missing out on something. I went to see Fiddlers Bid at Berwick Maltings a while back - absolutely memorable! I love The Unthanks music - their CD 'Songs of the Shipyards' is one of the most moving I've ever heard - wonderful story telling and cohesive from start to finish. Talk about compelling. Its very moving and I've listened to it over and over again. I've commented before about June Tabor. Check out Eliza Carthy too. Went to a Bellowhead Sage concert about two years back. Everyone was on their feet. Fantastic live act. Just been checking out Ian Carr (the guitarist) and Simon Thoumire on Iain's very amusing website - amazing stuff. Quite a few great jazz players comfortably cross over to contemporary folk and mix things up too. Graeme Stephen, Fraser Fifield, Chris Stout, Huw Warren, Iain Ballamy to name just a few. Folk music is just another genre - there's great, good and not so good - just like jazz. PS. What about opera?
Roly

Monday, June 09, 2014 2:46:00 pm
JC said...

While I love jazz and have been to many great jazz gigs, I've also been to a few where the option of having a foot sawed off might have seemed a tempting alternative. But I love folk and traditional music as well and ten days ago I was at an epic folk concert at the Sage as part of three-day festival curated by the current folk band of the moment, Lau. They had asked the Unthanks to bring together some of the groups who had influenced them. So on stage were the Unthanks who include the two singers, a piano, two violins, a cello and an electric bass; a three-man a capella group called the Voice Squad; and the Irish fiddle player, Martin Hayes and his guitar playing sidekick, Dennis Cahill. The first piece was a song 'Sea coal' written by a 14 year old from Hartlepool and featured the three groups together - amazing. The groups also played separately and I would defy lovers of whatever kind of specific music not to be moved by the Voice Squad's unaccompanied version of 'I am Stretched on Your Grave'.
Then Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill's 15 minute improvisation on a traditional Irish tune was a staggering tour de force. Folk? Jazz? When they're good, they're great.
PS. But I have to say I draw the line at opera....
JC

Monday, June 09, 2014 6:45:00 pm

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