Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. St Thomas & Bésame Mucho. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Side Cafe Oᴙkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Table reservations: 0191 477 3970.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, 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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