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HOWAY THE LADS!

Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 2025).

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

17873 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 194 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (March 14).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sat 15: Hot Teapots @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 15: Lagos to Longbenton + Belladonna @ Whitley Bay Big Social, Whitley Road, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Afrobeat/jazz fusion + soul/funk/R&B
Sat 15: Creakin’ Bones @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Is This Jazz? @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk. Performances by Mu Quintet, Jinjé, A Brief Utopia, John Pope & Co + André Marmot (author of Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion) in conversation + DJ sets ‘til 3:00am. ‘A Festival of New Jazz’.
Sat 15: Vintage Explosion @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 15: One Night Standards @ The White Room, Stanley. 8:00pm. £8.67 (inc. bf). Note - previously advertised Salty Dogs cancelled.
Sat 15: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blues guitar.

Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: Pearl Blossoms @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime.
Sun 16: Hot 8 Brass Band @ Wylam Brewery. 7:30pm. ‘Big Tuba Tour’.
Sun 16: ARQ @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 16: Air4ce @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (8:00pm doors). £12.00.; £10.00. Tom Atkinson’s all-star band (line-up inc. Lindsay Hannon & Sue Ferris).
Sun 16: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Jamie Toms Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Laurence Harrison, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.
Tue 18: Phil Bancroft’s Beautiful Storm @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20 & £11.00.. A JNE-Gem Arts co-promotion.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Nicknames.
Thu 20: Terri Green Experience @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.90.
Thu 20: Lindsay Hannon Trio @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Hannon’s ‘Tom Waits for No Man’ set.
Thu 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Giles Strong Quartet @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Fri 21: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Featuring special guest Martin Litton (piano).

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

Thursday, January 15, 2015

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) directed by Tommy Smith proudly presents The Jazz Genius of Billy Strayhorn

(Jazz in Scotland - Press release.)
2015 marks the twentieth birthday of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and the stars are already in alignment for a very special year of celebrations, beginning with our February concerts and the marvellous music of the remarkable Billy Strayhorn.
Strayhorn was born in 1915 and his name is synonymous with Duke Ellington’s finest work. The hugely prolific Strayhorn composed and arranged literally hundreds of pieces for Duke and wrote many of Ellington’s greatest hits, often un-credited for his efforts.
In the 1990’s, jazz historian Walter van de Leur uncovered dozens of previously unknown compositions by Strayhorn. These captivating pieces sparkle with Billy Strayhorn’s musical ingenuity and his obvious penchant for a brightly gregarious melody. Now those lost Strayhorn tunes are in their rightful place as a restored chapter in the jazz repertoire.
In 2003, the SNJO directed by Van de Leur, brought Strayhorn’s colourful melodies
brilliantly to life. Critics at the time concurred: “Strayhorn’s adventurous harmonies… and musical textures were beautifully rendered”, said The Scotsman, while The Herald
pronounced that these shows were, “further endorsement of the orchestra's adaptability and readiness for, it seems, any challenge.” Now, the SNJO offers a more rounded portrait of Billy Strayhorn in concerts laced with Ellington era hits and sensitive Strayhorn originals.
Join the SNJO and Take the A Train down to Chelsea Bridge, where Billy Strayhorn’s
humanity and optimism are further revealed in numbers like Remember and Jo.
Strayhorn’s “Midas touch” can also be heard on Ellington’s controversial jazz treatments of the classics in Edvard Grieg’s Anitra’s Dance and Morning Mood from Peer Gynt. However, Orson and Theme from Anatomy of a Murder are strong evidence of Strayhorn’s pre-existing and barely suppressed classical ambitions. The SNJO also revisits Rhapsody in Blue, this time in an elegant arrangement by Strayhorn that condenses Gershwin’s jazz masterpiece into four minutes and forty-seven seconds of shimmering jazz gold.
The Jazz Genius of Billy Strayhorn is the story of warm, wonderful music created to spread happiness. In the hands of the SNJO it’s a sound that makes you feel a bit more optimistic about the world, and a reminder that it would have been a poorer place without the influential contribution and timeless music of Billy Strayhorn.
Friday 20th February 2015 at 19:30 Queens Hall Edinburgh, Scotland 0131 668 2019
Saturday 21st February 2015 at 19:30 Buccleuch Centre Langholm, Scotland 01387 381 196
Sunday 22nd February 2015 at 19:30 Royal Conservatoire Glasgow, Scotland 0141 332 5057

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