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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17777 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 98 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Feb.8).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Free. Inc. Olly Styles (tenor sax).
Thu 13: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: Artist Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Hannabiell & Midnight Blue.
Thu 13: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 14: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 12:30-1:30pm. £5.00. at the door. New second Friday in the month concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Archipelago + Anna Tempest @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Jones & Dave Kelly @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 14: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Fri 14: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 15: Elkie Brooks @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘The Long Farewell Tour’.
Sat 15: Milne Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. .

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Matt Forster Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.

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

Monday, August 18, 2014

Paul Edis Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. August 17

Paul Edis (piano), Mick Shoulder (double bass) & Adam Sinclair (drums)
(Review by Russell).
On leaving the Black Bull at the end of the evening one astute listener said: Paul was inspired tonight!  Pianist Paul Edis is at the top of his game and one wonders what the future holds. The intimate jazz club setting will continue to offer Edis opportunities to play but what of the bigger stage (the concert hall platform)? Piano trios are big news, they’re everywhere – Sage Gateshead, the London halls, the Big Apple, splashed over double page spreads in the jazz press. If there was any justice Edis would be landing at JFK ahead of a headline appearance at the Village Vanguard!
Back to reality…a windswept crowd arrived at the Black Bull (a couple travelled from Cumbria) to support Roly Veitch’s efforts to present ‘the very best of jazz’ (as Humph would have said). Edis, double bassist Mick Shoulder and to quote Simon Spillett, ‘the sartorially elegant’ Adam Sinclair (drums) ran through a few things as the regulars took their seats, exchanged greetings and ordered pints of Black Sheep, Deuchars IPA, lime and lemon and the new breed of musicians’ favourite tipple – pints of water.
What Is This Thing Called Love? embraced all the required components – low-level volume, the telepathic interplay of the working unit, invention, solos, fours as they should be. Piano players of note were in the pad – Michel Legrand (You Must Believe in Spring), a Duke and a Monk, Tadd Dameron, George Shearing and Edis. Bags’ Groove showcased Mick Shoulder’s immaculate, subtle soloing. Stompin’ at the Savoy, taken as a samba, heard the master of the brushes Adam Sinclair playing with open hand. Did the Savoy ever hear it as samba? One up to Blaydon Jazz Club!
Edis’ intro to Satin Doll teased; the melody in there, drawn out, then the solo! Book that flight to NYC! Bill Evans featured twice – Very Early and Funkallero. Dave Brubeck’s Unsquare Dance (with the handclap) rollicked along in a Brubeckian way, From Nothing to Nowhere (a tune salvaged from the drawer in Edis’ study desk – the one marked ‘work in progress’) heard the composer, head bowed, deep in concentration. I’m Old Fashioned was anything but, similarly the timeless Rhythmining and to close the evening, Benny Golson’s Whisper Not. The Paul Edis Trio can be heard regularly at the Jazz Café in the heart of Newcastle. Check Bebop Spoken Here regularly for news of the next one.
Blaydon Jazz Club’s September concert – Sunday 21 September – is a big one. Roly Veitch and others have kept the show on the road for thirty years and to celebrate Veitch (guitar and vocals) teams up once again with pianist Jeremy McMurray. Their quartet (Neil Harland, double bass and drummer David Francis) will work with two long-time friends – the Teesside Delta-based Mark Toomey (alto) and Noel Dennis (trumpet and flugelhorn). A full house would be just fine.           
Russell.                                      

1 comment :

Roly said...

Great review Russell. I totally agree - very high class stuff indeed.
Roly

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