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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE! See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

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

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Mette Rasmussen and Chris Corsano @ the Lit and Phil - July 6.

Mette Rasmussen Saxophone & Chris Corsano Percussion
The Long Lonesome Go - Paul Taylor: Keyboards, Christian Alderson: Drums and Percussion, Jason Etherington: Bass
Posset – Joe Posset.
(Review by Steve H).
Jazz North East’s  ‘Women Making Music’  series was brought to a magnificent conclusion with this ninth and final gig of the season. In the atmospheric surroundings of the  Literary and Philosophical Society’s library the night swung from near disaster to absolute triumph. Rasmussen’s and Corsano’s lunchtime flight from Brussels to Newcastle had been cancelled meaning the earliest that they would arrive in Newcastle was 9:25 at night. However, rather than pull the gig, the JNE crew, at the drop of a hat or at least at the end of a phone, managed to improvise a treble bill to more than satisfy the good sized audience.
First up was Joe Posset who performed a short set of what could be described as improvised radio hammery.  A desk full of what appeared to be old style electronic devices (dictaphones, cassette players, strange boxes) were manipulated to produce a cacophony of strange interactive sounds. If you imagine 15 radios all playing concurrently but all playing at different frequencies you might get the picture.
Next up were local trio The Long Lonesome Go who produced a very fine set of improvised music - swirling keyboards, bass and percussion created a whirlpool of hypnotic and interesting sounds which at times reminded me of Miles Davis in his electronic period. Definitely a band I will be looking out for in the future.
Amazingly, the headliners'  flight landed on time and JNE’s own version of Lewis Hamilton (Bill Bream)  was despatched to chauffeur the duo to the Lit and Phil  as fast as speeding restrictions would allow him. Our Lewis may have to start looking over his shoulder because at 10:15  the triumvirate of driver and musicians had entered the building. Without time to hardly catch their breath but with time for a quick wardrobe change and set up Rasmusssen and Corsano  began to play what was to be the most wonderful finale to the Women Making Music concert series. Right from the off the dynamic duo gave as good as they got putting aside any tiredness and frustrations they must have been suffering from after their arduous journey. American Corsano produced fascinating sounds on percussion with the aid of all sorts of implements from his tool bag including a saw and an amazing homemade slide clarinet. If there is a more enjoyable sax player around at the moment than Norwegian based Danish sax player Rasmussen then I would like to hear them.  Her playing was creative ,exhilarating, exciting, fascinating and yet still sensitive. As a pairing the duo really managed to exploit the special acoustics that the library provides. After playing for almost an hour, despite their horrendous day, they were still able to indulge the audience with a much appreciated encore.   
It seems fitting at this point to thank Wes Stephenson, Paul Bream and the rest of Jazz North East for this marvellous initiative. Nine completely varied gigs showcasing the talent of contemporary female jazz performers in composition, arrangement and  performance utilizing a vast range of instruments including the 3 T’s Trombone, Trumpet and my new favourite jazz instrument  the Theremin. The size of the audiences for these gigs seems to a have been well above the average for this genre of music and I have seen many new faces in attendance. Hopefully everyone will have taken something from the experience and we can look forward to similar inspiring projects in the not too distant future.
Steve H.

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