Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18469 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 333 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 27 ) 67

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

April

Thu 30: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: International Jazz Day & JANE AGM.
Thu 30: Duke Junction @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Nadim Teimoori (tenor sax); Jeff Hewer (guitar); Martin Longhawn (organ); Steve Hanley (drums). An International Jazz Day event & the 12th anniversary of Newcastle Jazz Co-op acquiring the Globe!

May

Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 01: Bede Wind Band + East Coast Swing Band @ Cullercoats Methodist Church. 7:30pm. £10.00. Tickets from: www.ticketsource.com, members of Bede Wind Band & at the door. Memorial concert for Anne-Marie Purvis, who was a member of both ensembles. All proceeds to Tiny Lives Trust.
Fri 01: Louis Louis Louis @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00.

Sat 02: Midnite Follies Orchestra @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £20.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. All-star line-up.
Sat 02: Knats Masterclass & Jam II @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00-3:00pm. £15.00.
Sat 02: Shannon Pearl + John Pope & John Garner @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Witch-pop’ + Pope & Garner.
Sat 02: Knats + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 03: Chilcott Jazz Mass @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 9:30am. Free. Sung communion with Parish Choir (featuring Bob Chilcott’s music). A Jesmond Community Festival event.
Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 03: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Mark Toomey (alto sax).
Sun 03: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: Tom Waits for No Man @ Oxygenic, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm (2:30pm doors). Neckties and Boxing Gloves album launch. £14.00 (gig & a CD); £8.00 (gig only).
Sun 03: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 03: John Pope & John Garner @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.

Mon 04: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Pete Tanton’s Cuban Heels @ The Library, South Parade, Whitley Bay. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 05: Leah Kirk (voice): Final Year Music Recital @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 2:30pm. Free, open to the public.
Tue 05: Jenny Baker (voice): Final Year Music Recital @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 4:20pm. Free, open to the public.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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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