Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey (to Terence Blanchard): ''You ain't Miles find your own shit to do!'' (DownBeat May, 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

18504 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 368 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 7 ) 22

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

May

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Hey Remember This @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 14: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Philip Larkin’s Jazz Experiment.
Thu 14: Jerron Paxton @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Superb country blues.
Thu 14: Solcade @ the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle. 7:00pm. EP launch. Rivkala & co..
Thu 14: Jacob Egglestone @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass); Jack Littlewood (drums) & guests.
Thu 14: 58 Jazz Collective @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: 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 15: Conor Emery Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Line-up Emery (trombone); Alix Shepherd (piano); John Pope (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01 adv., £15.00 on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Puppini Sisters @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!

Sat 16: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner. God Bless the Child - Lady Day!. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 16: Kaberry Big Band @ the Seahorse Pub, Hillheads Rd., Whitley Bay NE23 8HR. From 7:30pm. £15.00
Sat 16: Lady Nade @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. ‘Lady Nade sings Nina Simone’.

Sun 17: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Forum Theatre, Billingham. 7:30pm.
Sun 17: QOW Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Spike Wells, Riley Stone-Lonergan & Eddie Myer.

Mon 18: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 18: Mark Williams Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 19: GoGo Penguin + Daudi Matsiko @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £22.00 + £4.40 bf.
Tue 19: Danny Lowndes’ Hot Club @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £5.00 bf.
Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Mark Robertson (drums).

Sunday, February 08, 2015

Jason Isaacs @ Hoochie Coochie.

Jason Isaacs (vcl/ten); Lewis Watson (ten/fl); Ray Dales (alt/fl); Don Fairley (tmb): Mark Webb, Darren Irwin (tpt); Stuart Collingwood (keys); Keith Peberdy (bs gtr); Simon Ferry (dms).
(Review by Lance).
Another super Sunday at Hoochie - hang on, am I at Hoochie Coochie, 54 Pilgrim St, Newcastle? Nah this ain't "The Toon" it's Vegas.  Peter S likened Paul Skerritt's gig at Ashington Jazz Club to Caesar's  Palace and The Sands. Well if Paul was at one of them then Jason was at the other and both have played Hoochie - indeed Paul was in the audience today and, just as Paul picked up the coveted January BSH Gig of the Month Award then Jason must be odds on for the February accolade - make space on the mantelpiece Sharon!
The bar was, hanging from the rafters, packed.and the air was filled with a delicious aroma of hairspray and the perfumes of Araby. The girls had also doused themselves liberally!
The music? what can I say? this wasn't a concert, more an experience!
Imagine hearing Sinatra, Elvis, Ray Charles and a few other legends at their best on a Sunday afternoon in Newcastle!
Jason plays good tenor too - he has to! it's a brave man who blows sax solos with Lewis and Ray in the section! He traded choruses with Lewis on Spandau Ballet's Your Indestructible and it went to a split decision!
Wonderful takes on standards such as Tramp; Come Fly With Me; Beyond the Sea; Bojangles; Ain't that a Kick in the Head?; That's Life; a poignant rendition of One for My Baby that brought the boisterous audience to near silence and, of course, New York, New York. start spreading the news don't miss THE MAN next time around...
In the meantime I've got a single and a CD to review - maybe they'll be CD of the month? Impossible, Shaz's mantelpiece won't be big enough!
Lance.
PS:One visitor who was impressed by the show was Swedish bass sax player Frans Sjöstrom who, after playing to a packed house with the NCRO the previous evening was astonished to witness yet another full house this afternoon. This maestro will surely return to Sweden and proclaim the north east of England as the jazz capital of the UK!
Great to meet you Frans.

3 comments :

Liz said...

just my sorta gig!

Sharon said...

Thanks for the kind words Lance, plenty of space on my mantelpiece...

Lance said...

Just heard - back on August 16!

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