Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18897 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 761 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 11.) 40.

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

September.

Sat 12: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 12: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £16.26 (inc. bf).

Sun 13: 58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00-3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: King Bees @ Shape Patisserie, Darlington. 3:00pm. Free. Duo (Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor). A Rhythm & Blues Fringe event. Blues excellence.
Sun 13: Alligator Gumbo @ The Cluny. 5:00pm. £17.15.; £11.43; £5.72.
Sun 13: Eternal Triangle + Andy Champion @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 14: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 17: Front Porch Blues @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 17: Miles 100 @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. Jack Courtney (trumpet); Sue Ferris (tenor sax); Tom Atkinson (guitar); Alan Law (piano); Deon Krishnan (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums). A night of Miles Davis.
Thu 17: Amphitrio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £7.00. Andrei Petrache (piano); Mike Alex (double bass); Philip Goron (drums).

Fri 18: Danny Lownes’ Hot Club @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Mark Williams Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 18: Emma Fisk’s Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00., £5.00. student.
Fri 18: Rivkala + Beccy Sloan @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! @ Newcastle Arts Centre March 12

Martin Kershaw (alt); Colin Steele (tpt); Steve Hamilton (pno); Brian Shiels (bs); Alyn Cosker (dms).
(Review by Lance/Photo courtesy of Ken Drew).
A cracker of a gig by five of Scotland's finest paying tribute to one of jazz's great bands - The Cannonball Adderley Quintet. It's been a good few days for alto sax players - Mark Toomey's recreation of Bird With Strings down in Saltburn and this appreciation of the late Cannonball. I never heard the alto player live although I did see his brother Nat (played here by Colin Steele - who previously had played Chet Baker at Live Theatre some years back) at the Corner House in the 1980s. 
This was a fairly faithful re-creation opening with the Theme from Fiddler on the Roof with its suggestion of an Irish reel and closing with the piece the band are named after, Joe Zawinal's Mercy! Mercy! Mercy!
In between, the goodly sized crowd heard classics from the Adderley repertoire such  as One For Daddy-o; Big P (Percy Heath); Falling Feathers - one of 'Q''s early compositions which brought out the lyricism in Steve Hamilton and Jive Samba.
Time to stop and recharge and to catch up with those folk who form the nucleus of the north-east jazz population many of whom contribute to these pages.
The second set moved up a gear as second sets usually do. The Way You Look Tonight had blistering alto and the first major explosion from Cosker, Paul Chamber's Ease It featured Shiels alongside a muted solo from Steele which may well have been his best of the night.
Shiels conjures up expressions of absolute concentration as he plays. Eyes closed, brow furrowed, is he thinking of the next set of chord changes or is he wondering if he's turned the gas off.
Steele is the archetypal trumpet player when it comes to body language! Knees bent, horn tilted towards the ceiling, the floor, wherever, shoulders back - Hollywood directors, next time you're casting a jazz trumpet player, look no further.
Kershaw gave us a sumptuous What's New? the band took Duke Pearson's Jeannine at Tempo de Lick before closing with MMM Steele on plunger and Cosker on Adrenaline. 
Lance.
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