Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,086 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 950 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Nov. 7) 20.

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

November

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 11: Plague Doctors Cure All + Noonward @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. JNE.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: JANE @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 12: MoonMot + Jack Banjo’s Snackwall @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 12: Ratio: Swingin’ Through the Decades @ The Forum, Darlington. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £10.00. A charity fundraiser.
Thu 12: Look Left @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Thu 12: Michael Woods @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Acoustic blues.

Fri 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Giles Strong (guitar); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 13: Lapwing Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Richard Herdman, Nick Bagnell, Paula Whitty.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! Returns next week (Fri 20th).
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Hexham Lantern Parade, Bandstand, Sele, Hexham. 6:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Sharp Collective @ Dry Water Arts, Amble. 7:00pm.
Fri 13: East Coast Swing Band @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm.
Fri 13: Guisborough Big Band @ Saltburn Golf Club. 7:30pm. Tickets: £15.00 (inc. pie & peas

Sat 14: Lianne Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am-5:00pm. £95.00. Day 1/2. SOLD OUT!
Sat 14: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 14: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf); £11.00 concs (inc. bf).
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Gateshead. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Tweed Gallery, Berwick. 7:30pm. Free.

Sun 15: Lianne Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am-5:00pm. Day 2/2. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe. 7:00pm. £48.18 (to include dinner); £17.43 (concert only).
Sun 15: Sarah Gillespie & Chris Montague @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £18.00.
Sun 15: Liane Carroll @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Solo performance. SOLD OUT!

Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Jacob Egglestone, Paul Grainger, Joe Deans.
Tue 17: Grammy Season (Laubrock/Seabrook/Lovato/Rainey) @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. JNE.

Thursday, July 10, 2014

"Ned Kelly's Hot Shots" @ The Millstone, South Gosforth.

Colin Aitchison (tpt/vcl); Franco Valussi (clt); Barry Soulsby (clt/alt/vcl); Laurence McBriarty (tmb); Brian Bennett (bjo/vcl); Bill Colledge (bs); Fred Thompson (dms).
(Review by Lance/photos by Jeannie Aitchison).
With the majority of the band sporting Ned Kelly * tee shirts, the Vieux Carré Jazzmen became, for this week only, "Ned Kelly's Hot Shots". And "Hot Shots" they were with Valussi and Aitchison (AKA "Our Man in Hong Kong") leading the line. Italian born Valussi, resident in Hong Kong since 1995, spent much of his early working life as a successful cartoonist before 'kicking old Buddah's Gong" and settling in Hong Kong. Regrettably we didn't get to hear his tenor playing on this trip but his clarinet playing proved him to be a top class stylist with more than a hint of BG in his solos.
Colin, whom I've known for many many years, is playing superbly in the dixie/swing style so beloved of his late dad. The phrasing, the ideas, are reminiscent of Hughie's but the tone is bolder and brassier - a good place to be for a horn man. He sings, he swings, he puts on a show.
Not that this was a one man show - far from it. Barry Soulsby fluctuated between clarinet and alto and had a memorable duo blast with Franco on The Loveliest Night of the Year as well as exercising his vocal chops on standards such as Sweet Lorraine. The minute pause during the line "She's got a pair of ... eyes" was magical albeit probably unnoticed by most! 
Laurence Mac was on tailgate, filling in all the spaces, opening a few doors, telling the truth.
Bennett kept the chug factor high - so essential whether on Bourbon Street or Haddricks Mill Road on a Thursday afternoon, Colledge was basically sound and Fred Thompson kept it all together - even when singing At The Jazz Band Ball.
This band may never get a Jazz Services funded touring grant - the packed room will be pleased to know - and as long as they keep packing them in...
Lance.
* Aitchison and Valussi are resident at Ned Kelly's Last Stand in Kowloon.

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