Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18219 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 73 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 24), 73

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 30: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 30: Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Feat. Bill Bruford.
Fri 30: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 30: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Northern Edge Coffee, Silver St., Berwick. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00 + £1.00. bf (www.wegottickets.com). Coulthurst (trumpet); Joel Steadman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums).

Sat 31: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 31: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet + guest Bill Watson (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. adv. Gospel/soul.
Sun 01: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sun 01: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker @ the Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

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, July 14, 2015

CD Review: Colin Aitchison & The China Coast Jazzmen - The Party Never Ends

Colin Aitchison (tmb/vcl); Peping Ciriaco (tpt/flg); Franco Valussi (clt/ten/sop); Aquilino Espirutu (bjo/gtr/pno/sousa); Joselito Garcia (bs); Robert Flores (dms) + Bert Amparado (tpt); Red Pellini (ten); Tom Cord (dms); Neville Sarony pno/vcl).
(Review by Lance).
Go easy on us, said Colin - our Man in Hong Kong and Numero Uno supporter of BSH East of Suez - bit like asking your son to write his own school report!
Those of us who have known Colin over the years and admired his progress since becoming a pro trumpet/trombone player - not least on his annual visits back to the north east - will know what to expect here.
It's Xmas Party time at Ned Kelly's and the disc conveys the atmosphere as good as any video could.
It's Goodtime Jazz! Think of Turk Murphy at Earthquake  McGoon's in Frisco, Peewee Hunt playing Twelfth St. Rag, Ball, Bilk, Spike Jones and, wait for it, Goodman, Bechet, Armstrong and Sinatra!
What a mix! Red Pellini's gutsy tenor brings to mind Hawkins, Ike Quebec - anybody but Lester! Valussi shows the same flare that he did on Tyneside last week and Colin blows like Satchmo although he perhaps overdoes the Louis vocal cloning. Still the audience at Ned's loved it and, if like me, you ain't been there this is as close as you'll get to Jazz Party HQ! 
What an audience! Joining in the sing-a-longs in a way I haven't heard since the Sunday morning Newcastle Big Band Sessions at the University Playhouse (Colin was in that band too where Hey Jude was given a drunken choral accompaniment!) gives one the Blues to be There.
Ask Roy Willis, or Bob Wilber, Dan Barrett and many more who've passed through.
Then, just when you think you've heard it all - up jumps Neville Sarony with an encapsulated history of Ned Kelly's in words and music, relating the story from Larry Allen to the China Coast Jazzmen.
You know what? I might just go out and book my flight for this Xmas (dream on Lance).
Lance.

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