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

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).

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Jordan Jackson @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.80 (inc. bf); £15.40 (inc. bf).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Jazz Classics with Rivkala @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Rivkala (vocals); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Thu 21: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Monday, June 22, 2015

Sue Ferris Quintet @ The Black Bull. June 21

Sue Ferris (tenor & baritone saxophones, flute), Graham Hardy (trumpet & flugelhorn), Stuart Collingwood (keyboards), Ian Paterson (double bass) & Rob Walker (drums)
(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Roly.)
Blaydon Jazz Club invited Sue Ferris to bring in her quintet to play a gig at this year’s Blaydon Festival. The longest day was perhaps the coldest June day in living memory. Inclement weather didn’t deter the regulars and they were rewarded with a fine gig by Ferris and her top-notch band.
Peri’s Scope set the pace ensuring the boys in the band were nicely warmed up. Ferris’ regular frontline partner Graham Hardy played plunger mute on Just Squeeze Me, Stu Collingwood and Ian Paterson soloed leaving the way clear for Ferris’ tenor to take it home. An early highlight – perhaps the highlight of the night – featured Hardy and an inspired Rob Walker rifling apposite accents on Monk’s Well, You Needn’t. The little-heard Wayne Shorter composition Look at the Birdie convinced some that the cartoon birdsong owed something to the golden age of Hollywood animators.

Drummer Rob Walker made running repairs to a hi-hat stand (gaffer tape a temporary solution) leaving Ferris to fill as best she could – I don’t tell jokes, she said. Cue Roly Veitch to make a few parish announcements. One such announcement should be noted: Sunday July 5 – trumpeter Colin Aitchison and Franco Valussi (clarinet) return with Cumbria-based reedsman Steve Andrews. Don’t miss this one, arrive early or you may not get a seat. Walker up and running once more, Ferris switched to flute (Hardy made the change to flugelhorn) to close out a fantastic first set with Witchcraft.
A brace of Horace Silver tunes kicked-off the second set; Opus de Funk then Song For My Father (Ferris and Paterson the soloists). A Graham Hardy arrangement of Leonard Bernstein’s One Hand, One Heart featured the arranger himself on flugel. Ferris took a samba approach to Secret Love before picking up the big beast (her baritone sax) on two standards; Rollins’ Doxy and Hoagy’s Stardust. To round off a great night Ferris made a Black Coffee – the perfect nightcap. 

Russell.      

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