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HOWAY THE LADS!

Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 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

17873 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 194 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (March 14).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sat 15: Hot Teapots @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 15: Lagos to Longbenton + Belladonna @ Whitley Bay Big Social, Whitley Road, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Afrobeat/jazz fusion + soul/funk/R&B
Sat 15: Creakin’ Bones @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Is This Jazz? @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk. Performances by Mu Quintet, Jinjé, A Brief Utopia, John Pope & Co + André Marmot (author of Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion) in conversation + DJ sets ‘til 3:00am. ‘A Festival of New Jazz’.
Sat 15: Vintage Explosion @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 15: One Night Standards @ The White Room, Stanley. 8:00pm. £8.67 (inc. bf). Note - previously advertised Salty Dogs cancelled.
Sat 15: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blues guitar.

Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: Pearl Blossoms @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime.
Sun 16: Hot 8 Brass Band @ Wylam Brewery. 7:30pm. ‘Big Tuba Tour’.
Sun 16: ARQ @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 16: Air4ce @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (8:00pm doors). £12.00.; £10.00. Tom Atkinson’s all-star band (line-up inc. Lindsay Hannon & Sue Ferris).
Sun 16: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Jamie Toms Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Laurence Harrison, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.
Tue 18: Phil Bancroft’s Beautiful Storm @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20 & £11.00.. A JNE-Gem Arts co-promotion.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Nicknames.
Thu 20: Terri Green Experience @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.90.
Thu 20: Lindsay Hannon Trio @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Hannon’s ‘Tom Waits for No Man’ set.
Thu 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Giles Strong Quartet @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Fri 21: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Featuring special guest Martin Litton (piano).

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

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

CD Review: Paul Edis Sextet – Mr Hipster

Paul Edis (piano), Graham Hardy (trumpet & flugelhorn), Graeme Wilson (tenor & baritone saxophones), Chris Hibbard (trombone), Mick Shoulder (double bass) & Adam Sinclair (drums)
(Review by Russell).
Mr Hipster is the second CD release from the Paul Edis Sextet. Recorded in October 2013, the album comprises eleven tracks composed and arranged by pianist Paul Edis. The bandleader’s pen ranges from township jazz to the modern jazz of a small combo, hinting at the prospect of a future larger ensemble project.
The Timothys opens the recording with a graceful brass band statement concealing the township jazz groove to follow, on which trumpeter Graham Hardy lays down the first    of several top flight solos from a band replete with soloists. Chris Hibbard (trombone) proves the point with his own solo opportunity and Edis serves to reinforce it.
Mr Hipster, the title track, attempts to gain entry to the local juke joint. A playful intro suggests Mr Hipster doesn’t take himself too seriously (more Inspector Clouseau than Philip Marlowe). Once inside the joint the music does the talking; Hibbard’s trombone, the band’s casually ferocious swing, Adam Sinclair’s Clouseau hi-hat.
Eastern features Graeme Wilson’s haunting tenor solo framed by Edis’ voicings of the horns and Wilson again delivers a mature contribution on Serial for Breakfast as does Hibbard backed by a swinging rhythm section. The baroque Knight Errant is, perhaps, the atypical contribution to the CD. Edis’ piano arranges a trip to the local fleapit for a   low-budget, no name, popcorn treat with Hardy sweeping across the silver screen.
Ah Um tells you all you need to know – superb small group jazz, the man Mingus the guiding light with Hibbard reaching for the stars. Dorian Grey confirms the sextet as a match for any contemporary outfit doing the rounds; Wilson’s tenor, Mick Shoulder’s bass playing, two-handed piano playing. Edis’ personal ballad Missing You opens with the trio – piano, bass and drums – in late-night mode, inviting Hardy’s flugelhorn to say something sensitive. From ballad to swing time with the wonderfully titled Better Than a Punch in the Face. Hardy switches to trumpet, has a blow, then steps aside for the boss to play some, then Shoulder, the ensemble playing exemplary. The penultimate track – Lost in Translation – hits a groove with the versatile Wilson flying on baritone, propelled by Shoulder and Sinclair. Mr Hipster winds down with the familiar sounding Vignette. Who wrote it? Paul Edis, that’s who. Mr Hipster is sure to feature in 2014’s ‘best of’ lists. It may well take no.1 spot.
Mr Hipster by the Paul Edis Sextet is available on Edis Music.(www.pauledis.co.uk).
Produced by Adam Sinclair and Paul Edis. Recorded, engineered, mixed and mastered by Adam Sinclair. Artwork by Alastair Graham. Photography by Ian West.
Catch the band on tour at: Richmond Jazz Festival, Yorkshire (Sat 13 September), Lancaster Jazz Festival (Sat 20), Sage Gateshead - Album Launch (Thurs 25), Seven Arts Leeds (Sun 28), The Vortex, London (Mon 6 October), Gala Theatre, Durham (Mon 13) & Queen’s Hall, Hexham (Sat 18).          
Russell.                                         

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