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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

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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