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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + SH#RP Collective with Lindsay Hannon - open rehearsal.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (piano); Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Mark Hawkins (drums); Adrian Beadnell (bass).

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Struggle Buggy @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Boys of Brass @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 06: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. 12:30pm. £14.00. Tel: 0191 237 3697. ‘Victory in Europe Afternoon Tea’ (VE Day 80th anniversary).
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.
Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 06: FILM: Whiplash @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 8:15pm.

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

Monday, July 06, 2015

Colin Aitchison, Franco Valussi & Steve Andrews @ The Black Bull. July 5


Colin Aitchison (trumpet & vocals), Franco Valussi (clarinet), Steve Andrews (tenor saxophone), Roly Veitch (guitar) & Roy Cansdale (bass guitar) +Jim McBriarty (clarinet)
(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Jeanie Aitchison)
Crossing the Redheugh Bridge menacing storm clouds hung over Blaydon. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Fork lightning, sheet lightning…welcome to Blaydon! On this Sunday night the weather didn’t play ball. Fine weather all week, then an hour before gig time thunder and lightning threatened to make it a wash-out. Jazz club organiser Roly Veitch ran through a few things with guests ex-pat trumpeter Colin Aitchison and clarinet maestro Franco Valussi. Would anyone turn-up?
Eight o’clock; few people had taken their seats. Two numbers in and latecomers made for a respectable turn-out. In a Mellotone then Sugar. It made braving the elements worth it, well worth it. The frontline – Aitchison, Valussi and Steve Andrews (tenor) – had already laid down top rate solos and more were to follow. Moten Swing, Royal Garden Blues, the small group swing absolutely immaculate. Aitchison asked Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans? in his brilliant take on Satchmo’s classic vocal style. So impressed was Steve Andrews that he wondered out loud: What you been drinkin?’ This the first of   Andrews’ many witty asides.
Aitchison asked Veitch (guitar) to set the tempo on China Boy. The tempo set, the boys in the band did their best to keep up! Fabulous rhythm section work from Veitch, and all the way from Gloucestershire, bassist Roy Cansdale. Aitchison and Andrews were in need of a rest (visit to the bar) and left it to Hong Kong-based Italian clarinetist Franco Valussi to show what he could do on Moonglow. FV is a great musician – it is a treat to hear him on Tyneside. Rhythm ace Veitch threw in a top solo on A Smooth One ahead of Aitchison’s solo feature I Want a Little Girl (trumpet and vocal). The Wallsend-born Aitchison plays great trumpet, sings, and, something of a rarity, is an entertainer into the bargain. Playing second fiddle, Steve Andrews nevertheless impressed. Every time he blew tenor it was so good. His solo feature – East of the Sun (West of the Moon) – encapsulated his sound, so much a fan of Coleman Hawkins.  
Kowloon has a fabulous clarinetist, so does Newcastle. Byker-born Jim McBriarty joined the band for a few tunes kicking off with Crazy Rhythm. All excelled, not least Cansdale, undemonstrative yet on top of it. Indiana pitched the two clarinetists into the spotlight. A contrast in styles, singularly masterful of instrument. A Sunday night in Blaydon offering world-class jazz. Can you believe it? It rained Pennies from Heaven (McBriarty and the rhythm strings superb) sang Aichison. Rosetta and more. Tune after tune, great playing.
In a fortnight – Sunday 19th – the Black Bull is the place to be to hear the Ruth Lambert Trio. Ms Lambert will sing original compositions and a choice selection from the Great American Songbook in the company of master guitarist Giles Strong and Mick Shoulder (double bass). This concert is one for lovers of the intimate interpretation of a lyric. See you there.   
Blaydon Photos (Recent).    
Russell.            

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