Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

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: 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 TBC.
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.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

The Bell & Bucket New Orleans Jazz Festival. May 25

Paul Bacon (drums), Liz Bacon (clarinet), Jeff Milner (trombone & vocals), Sarah Thatcher (banjo & guitar), Mike ‘Spike’ Kennedy (double bass) & Emily Bacon (vocals)
Review by Russell).
Bank holiday Monday at the end of May means one thing…it’s the Bell and Bucket New Orleans Jazz Festival! This 2015 festival, the second of hopefully many more to come in years to come, mimicked last year’s inaugural event; a two day event, a one o’clock start with invited guests from around the UK and the support of the weekly Monday session’s regulars.
The Bacons – Paul and Liz – are dedicated practitioners of the music of New Orleans. In a nice touch they invited daughter Emily to return to Tyneside to sing at this year’s event. Ms Bacon lives in Bangor, Wales. Sarah Thatcher (banjo and guitar) lives in Newport (in Wales, not Rhode Island), making for a one-third Welsh-based contingent on the stand. A fifty-fifty split in genders made for an unusually healthy number of female musicians in a world all-to-frequently dominated by BOFs (of the male variety). Trombonist Jeff Milner returned following his well-received appearance at last year’s festival and Spike Kennedy (bass) was making his debut at the Norfolk Street festival.
Emily Bacon wasted no time getting up to sing In a Sentimental Mood and, iPhone at the ready (a lyrics’ download, you know), You Are My Sunshine. Mr Milner showed he could sing as well as play trombone on Love Letters in the Sand. Liz Bacon (clarinet) and Emily Bacon teamed up on Crazy and Emily stayed on to sing everyone’s favourite – All of Me.
Festival interval raffle prizes were many – bottles of plonk and various Bacon/Mississippi Dreamboats’ CD releases to choose from. Cullercoats Brewery dominated the bar (no bad thing) and the sun shone, what more could one ask for on a holiday weekend?
Second set. One or two (welcome) later comers boosted numbers. A Ducal treat – Creole Love Call and Mood Indigo (the latter featuring Emily’s vocals) – ensured that day one of this year’s festival got the thumbs-up from all present. Sarah Thatcher’s musicianship got the thumbs-up from your reviewer, as did her rhythm partner Spike Kennedy.
Day two (Tuesday) features three of the north east’s finest; Mr Mac Rae (on this occasion on clarinet), trombonist Laurence McBriarty (to quote Paul Bacon: He can play anything) and pianist Dick Straughn. Sarah Thatcher and Mike Kennedy are staying over. They are well-worth catching. One o’clock start and it’s free admission.        
Russell.
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