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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17777 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 98 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Feb.8).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Fri 14: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00-2:00pm. £5.00. at the door. New second Friday in the month concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Archipelago + Anna Tempest @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Jones & Dave Kelly @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 14: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 14: Fiona Finden’s Jazz Express @ Flash House Brewing Co., North Shields. 8:00pm.
Fri 14: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 15: Elkie Brooks @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘The Long Farewell Tour’.
Sat 15: Milne Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 16: MOBO Song @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 12 noon. Free, performances on the concourse. Line-up inc. Jazz Attack (on stage time TBC) & Jambone (12:20pm).
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: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. .

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Matt Forster Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.

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: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Jazz Milestones - 1975.
Thu 20: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 20: Orange Claw Hammer + Peony @ The Globe, Newcastle.7:30pm. Orange Claw Hammer play Captain Beefheart.
Thu 20: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Featuring special guest Zoë Gilby.

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, May 19, 2015

Mark Toomey Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. May 17

Mark Toomey (alto saxophone), Jeremy McMurray (piano), Peter Ayton (bass & vocals) & Paul Smith (drums).
(Review by Russell)
Last heard leading the late-night jam session at last month’s Darlington Jazz Festival, alto saxophonist Mark Toomey made the journey up the A19 to play a gig at the Black Bull in Blaydon. Two sets featuring the music of Charlie Parker attracted the regulars to Blaydon Jazz Club’s monthly session. The region’s sax players were conspicuous by their absence - they missed a treat.
Parker disciple Mark Toomey likes nothing better than to play the music of the genius we know as ‘Yardbird’. Tunes, interspersed with a potted history of the ill-fated saxophonist, broadly in chronological order, made for an informative and entertaining presentation. An up tempo start with Cherokee almost went pear-shaped as Peter Ayton’s bass amp played up. As jacks and inputs were checked over, pianist Jeremy McMurray’s left hand worked overtime. Instrument and amp restored to rude health, Ayton delved way back to Parker’s days with Jay McShann singing Hootie Blues – great stuff!
Dizzy’s Groovin’ High, All the Things You Are…the realisation that every number was in the ‘classic’ category. Sit back and enjoy! Dial and Savoy sides (the often imperfect sides – lo-fi quality – somehow add to the legendary status accorded Parker) caught Toomey’s  ear, some transcribed by the Teesside-based altoist, such is the man’s devotion. A Night in Tunisia fizzed along (drummer Paul Smith’s rhythmic patterns spot-on) with the club’s former house pianist Jeremy McMurray laying down one of several fully-formed solos.
Now’s the Time (more from McMurray), Loverman as a samba (Smith again ‘on it’ and Ayton soloing effectively), the tunes flowed one after another. The test piece as Toomey rightly described it – Donna Lee – brought out the best in the quartet. Listening to Mark Toomey is a damn good approximation of Parker on record – ‘uncanny’ is the word. Out of Nowhere featured Smith’s first-rate brushes and an inventive McMurray solo complete with a stride pattern woven into the fabric of it. Parker’s Mood with its aching intro just about brought the evening to a close save for a brisk take on Love for Sale. A good night at Blaydon. Next month’s session (a Blaydon Festival special on Sunday, June 21) sees the return of the Sue Ferris Quintet. The diminutive Ferris is an accomplished musician (tenor and baritone saxes, flute), well respected on the local scene. Heard recently at the Great North Big Band Jazz Festival, Ferris was in stupendous form. If she breezes into the Black Bull firing on all cylinders it is sure to be a storming gig. Don’t miss it!                    
Russell.

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