Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18361 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 215 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 8 ), 25

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 12: Boomslang @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 12: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 13: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm . £9.00.
Fri 13: The SH#RP Collective @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Soothsayers + Rookie Numbers @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.

Sat 14: The Too Bad Jims @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. R&B.
Sat 14: NUJO @ Venue, Newcastle University Students’ Union. Time TBC. £15.00. supporter; £10.00. standard; £5.00. student. Seated event.

Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: The Too Bad Jims @ The Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. £12.00. R&B.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Rebecca Poole @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Poole w. Dean Stockdale & Ken Marley. CANCELLED!

Mon 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Scotty Adair (drums).

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: The ’58 Jazz Collective @ Hartlepool Cricket Club, West Park, 7:30pm. £7.00.
Wed 18: Brand New Heavies @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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 17, 2014

Jazz Café Jam September 16

Peter Gilligan (pno); Bradley Johnston (gtr); John Pope (bs); Paul Wight (dms) + Brian Lynham (hca/vcl); Hannah Wilson (vcl); Ray Truscott (bs gtr); Kathryn Lowdon (vcl).
(Review by Lance/photo by Mike Tilley).
The house trio became a quartet tonight with the addition of  Bradley on guitar. How well this young man has mastered the idiom slotting in comfortably with Gilligan, Wight and Pope John - the latter depping for the absent Paul Grainger.
Days of Wine and Roses took off as if the bar and the florist were about to close in 3 minutes time! The quartet made it! Johnston provided the melody for All the Things You Are, Gilligan took us to Dear Old Stockholm followed by some Latin rhythms on that bossa nova with 20 different names. Tonight it may have been sailing under Carnival. 
Brian Lynham brought his harp to the party and he was asked to play. Stormy Weather was the forecast although later he gave us a rockin' version of Summertime complete with vocal to complement the bluesy sounds from his Hohner 270.
Bradley kept the blues theme going with Things Ain't What They Used to Be. On piano, Gilligan, oblivious to the instruments failings, was playing a blinder and never more so than on Anthropology taken at Tempo Di Lick (fast!) guitar and piano playing in unison.
A new kid on the block was Hannah Wilson who gave an imaginative rendition of My Funny Valentine - look forward to hearing her again.
The Pope took a well-earned break and Ray Truscott (pictured with Bradley Johnston) added a couple of extra strings to the bass section and admitted he had Met Miss Jones.
Skylark and Canteloupe Island kept the ball in play. The former delicate and reflective, the latter funky and soulful. 
John Pope came back on for the bass feature Mr PC - a tune dedicated to former Miles Davis bassist Paul Chambers and nothing to do with being a computer, a constable or a politically correct person.
Other gems included Moonlight in Vermont, Chick Corea's 500 Miles High and In a Mellotone before the ebullient Ms Lowdon socked it to us with Stormy Monday.
Another good day at the office.

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