Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

From This Moment On

July

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Strictly Smokin’ quintet + House of the Black Gardenia @ Sunset Festival, Transmission Dynamics, Cramlington. 5:00-9:30pm. Free. Tickets: Eventbrite. Multi-bill.
Sat 04: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm. Free.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Friday, November 07, 2014

Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil. November 7

(Review by Russell/photos by Jerry)
More seats were brought into the Loftus Room at the Lit & Phil, a sure sign that many people wanted to be at today’s concert. Pianist Paul Edis performed a solo programme consisting of eleven compositions (five of them written by Edis).
The first three tunes in a varied programme were by Edis; Pulse (the melody unfurling quietly), From Nothing to Nowhere and Not Like Me (typically Edis!). The Rodgers & Hart standard Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered followed and instantly became the odds on favourite for this reviewer’s ‘Performance of the Year 2014’. Within minutes Rodgers & Hammerstein’s My Favourite Things topped it, then an unlikely contender – Percy Grainger’s English Country Garden – jockeyed for pole position! The playing couldn’t have been better. The audience loved it, one hour of sheer joy.
Distraction, Edis’ commentary on the iPhone generation’s nano-second concentration span, flitted from hardcore hammered pianism to brilliantly executed fleeting classical references, to walking, syncopated bass lines, by way of a swinging jazz piano trio. In the absence of bass and drums this was something else! Horace Silver’s Nica’s Dream and John Coltrane’s epic Giant Steps reinstated the standard; Edis explored both tunes without ever losing the melodic essence at the heart of them.
Bring Me Sunshine. Eric and Ernie’s signature tune (comp. Kent & Dee) brought a big smile to many a face. It swung. Good piano players can make anything swing. Dr Edis ended his ‘recital’ (we were in the Literary and Philosophical Society, after all) in the same we he started it, with a mellow original, Sunrise. Paul Edis can be heard later on tonight at the Jazz Café on Pink Lane in the company of Mick Shoulder (double bass) and drummer Adam Sinclair. First set 9:00pm, get there early to secure a seat.  
Russell. 
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1 comment :

JC said...

This was an almost perfect concert. Starting from the pleasure of walking into the Lit and Phil; an oasis of calm in the chaos of whatever is being done to Central Station. A quick look in the library to be reassured that actual books still exist, a cup of tea and some (free) biscuits and then into a room that just had a grand piano and plenty of chairs. They were needed as there was a big crowd, which was great. In his review, Russell has described very well the artistry in the playing of Paul Edis but I was also struck by the craft in his composing and interpreting of tunes. He explained that From Nothing to Nowhere (one of my favourites from his solo album) was not, in fact, a musical version of one of Samuel Beckett's happier plays but was originally intended to be a bridge between two other pieces. In the end he liked it enough to have it stand on its own. He played his version of Giant Steps because he recognised it as 'a very good tune'. His reconstructions of old tunes whether of Victorian, music hall or stage musical origins are always just familiar enough to bring out a pleasurable smile of familiarity followed by the thrill of hearing them extended and explored. The concert ended with the audience grabbing their coats and hats and strolling happily along the Sunny Side of the Street.
The slight imperfection? The show was far too short.
JC

Sunday, November 09, 2014 4:46:00 PM

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