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

18219 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 73 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 24), 73

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 30: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 30: Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Feat. Bill Bruford.
Fri 30: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 30: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Northern Edge Coffee, Silver St., Berwick. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00 + £1.00. bf (www.wegottickets.com). Coulthurst (trumpet); Joel Steadman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums).

Sat 31: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 31: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet + guest Bill Watson (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. adv. Gospel/soul.
Sun 01: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sun 01: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker @ the Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

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.

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

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Haste/ Kinsella/Noble/Batchelor @ Newcastle University. October 3










Haste (right): Ingrid Laubrock (tenor sax); Hannah Marshall (cello); Veryan Weston (piano).
Kinsella/Noble/Batchelor (left): Lauren Kinsella (voice); Chris Batchelor (trumpet); Liam Noble (piano)
(Review by Steve H/ photos courtesy of Ken Drew.)
Due to the late arrival of the first band who had been taken suddenly hungry in a local restaurant we were treated to an impromptu solo performance from free piano jazz wunderkid Veryan Weston.
A suitably replete Kinsella, Noble and Batchelor trio returned from their gastronomic adventure to take the stage for the first half of the scheduled programme. Kinsella is a vocal virtuoso  using the full range of her voice to improvise extensively. 
At times it felt like she was performing  scenes from a one woman play although the dialogue appeared to be ‘speaking in tongues’ rather than recognizable words.  Noble played his piano literally inside and out whilst Batchelor was not only outstanding on trumpet but with the assorted tubes and plungers he brought along to mutate his sound there was the added bonus that should the need arise he would have all the equipment necessary to unblock any drains. The band completed their set to a great ovation and were persuaded by a more than reasonably sized audience to perform an encore.
I am unable to name any of the tunes they played because as with the headline act there was zero communication with the audience. Neither of the bands introduced its members let alone the pieces they were playing. Maybe as artists they feel their music speaks for itself.
Personally I feel a little interaction between the band and the audience enhances the live experience but as Ronnie Scott once said ‘Quiet please you’re not here to enjoy yourselves’.     
After the interval Haste performed one long piece of ‘Chamber Jazz’ with all three members displaying great virtuosity and inventiveness on their respective instruments Marshall plucking her Cello at times to great aplomb whilst Laubrock produced an array of interesting and exotic sound effects from her tenor. The trio seemed to combine transcendentally and I was quite swept away as I surfed along the improvisational wave. At the end of the show I was left pontificating  as to  just how they managed to create such as a complex interactive piece of work.  To conclude I will improvise on that old English proverb – ‘Music with Haste, Recital a Pleasure’.  
Steve H.

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