Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18288 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 142 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 14), 42

From This Moment On ...

February

Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Squabble @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:00pm. Steve Chambers (organ); Jude Murphy (double bass, vocals); Sid White (drums).
Fri 20: Jive Aces @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors).
Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Sat 21: ???

Sun 22: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 22: Joe Steels Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Harben Kay Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Joe Steels Group @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 24: Liam Oliver & Shayo Oshodi @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Geordie Jazz Jam @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Newcastle University jam session. All welcome.
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 26: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 26: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00 adv.
Thu 26: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Blues.

Fri 27: Joe Steels Group @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT! A Blue Patch album tour.
Fri 27: Alan Barnes w. Mick Shoulder Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Trio: Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Radio Hito + Eddie Prévost, Silvain Schmid & Tom Wheatley @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £12.22., £10.10., £8.00.
Fri 27: Giacomo Smith w Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Fri 27: Alan Barnes w. Mick Shoulder Trio @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Trio: Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).

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, December 03, 2014

CD Review: Samuel Eagles Quartet - Next Beginning - LIVE TONIGHT @ THE GLOBE NEWCASTLE (8pm £10)!


(I make no apologies for re-posting this CD review as the band are appearing tonight at the latest Jazz Co-op gig at The Globe. If they are only half as good as they are on the CD it would still be one helluva gig! However, I confidently expect them to be even better live! Don't miss out! - Lance)
Samuel Eagles (alt/sop); Ralph Wyld (vib); Fergus Ireland (bs); Eric Ford (dms).
(Review by Lance).
What a talented family the Eagle Clan must be! Brother Duncan has already achieved recognition with the contemporary trio Partikel and now, Sibling Samuel has emerged from the eyrie in full flight displaying a technique well capable of expressing the multitudinous rush of ideas that flow from his head/soul via either alto or soprano.
Tutoring by such greats as Mornington Lockett, Jean Toussaint and Jason Yarde, among others (no doubt brother Duncan also threw in his tenpenneth), have ensured that Samuel has tread the path of musical righteousness. Eagles cites his influences as ranging from Charlie Parker to Kenny Garrett with a nod towards Ambrose Akinmusire and Logan Richardson which is no bad place to be.
Eight original compositions, tried and tested on the London gig scene, prove that not only is Eagles a saxophone player to be reckoned with but a top notch composer too!
On this CD he is in the company of his equally talented peers. Ralph Wyld, currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music under Nick Smart and Jim Hart,  is an emerging malleteer exploring the possibilities of the vibraphone. No longer dismissed as a "Miscellaneous Instrument" by Down Beat, although the British Jazz Awards still include the instrument in that slightly derogatory category (Jim Hart was last year's winner) there is nothing miscellaneous about Wyld's playing. pithy, and swinging like his mentor.
Ferg Ireland, another regular on the London scene, arrived via Trinity and RAM before making his mark with some of the capital's A-listers such as Nat Facey, James Maddren and Jay Phelps. Here, he is the veritable rock around which the session is built.
On drums, Eric Ford, well known for his work with Eagles Major in Partikel, provides plenty of  F-IRE power on this session driving, cajoling, spurring the soloists on, pushing them to the brink then bringing them back.
An exhilarating date. I can imagine Eagles saying. "Follow that bro!"
Samuel Eagles Quartet - Next Beginning will be officially released on the F-IRE presents label  on November 10 and launched on November 16 at Pizza Express, Dean St., Soho.
The quartet play several dates promoting the album commencing on Sept. 20 at Lancaster Jazz Festival.
Lance.
PS: The Paul Edis Sextet present their Mr Hipster album that same day at the same festival giving fans an additional incentive to cross the Pennines!

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