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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mark Williams Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 23: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Mu Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!
Sun 23: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: ?

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Jamie McCredie @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. THIS WEEK ONLY JAMES BIRKETT (guitar)!
Fri 28: Luis Verde Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Knats @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.50. (inc bf.). Album launch gig. Support act TBC.
Fri 28: Black is the Color of My Voice @ The Gala, Durham. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by the life of Nina Simone, performed by Florence Odumosu.
Fri 28: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival: Musicians Unlimited @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 8:00pm. £10.00. (Weekend ticket £20.00., available on the door). Day 1/3. Musicians Unlimited in concert.
Fri 28: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

MARCH 2025

Sat 01: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 11:00am. £15.00. Day 2/3.
Sat 01: TJ Johnson Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Get your funk on! Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ The Watch House, Cullercoats. 2:00-3:30pm. Free.
Sat 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Struggle Buggy @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Blues band.
Sat 01: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 01: Jack & Jay’s Vintage Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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, August 17, 2015

Paul Edis Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. August 15

Paul Edis (piano), Mick Shoulder (double bass) & Russ Morgan (drums)
(Review by Russell/photos courtesy of Roly Veitch).
The music of Duke Ellington. The latest in an occasional series in which pianist Paul Edis presents a musical portrait of his chosen subject: Edward Kennedy Ellington – composer, pianist, bandleader. Blaydon Jazz Club hosted this first performance of the Paul Edis Trio playing Ellington’s compositions and those associated with him, notably Billy Strayhorn.
The Black Bull regulars turned out, the pianists – Ellington and Edis – the attraction. This   was the first opportunity for some to hear drummer Russ Morgan play. He’s been sitting-in at jam sessions on Tyneside for a year or so, making a big impression, rapidly picking- up some of the plum gigs on the scene; the recently established Tanton-Williams Quartet, working with vocalist Alice Grace, herself a welcome newcomer, and Dr Edis. The ever-reliable bassist Mick Shoulder, busy with his own projects, was, as ever, at Edis’ side.
Rocking in Rhythm for trio, the sound of the Ellington band’s section work in one’s head, this was going to be special. Edis interspersed tunes with commentary; context (the social and the political), relationships (professional and personal), the music and its oft disputed authorship. From Black and Tan Fantasy to Isfahan to Mood Indigo. The trio took a little time to hit their straps. Short on rehearsal time, eye contact essential, a nod the cue, a real test of their musical mettle. Take the A Train took us to Harlem, the Harlem Renaissance of the early years of the twentieth century. The trio settled, the jazz superb, Blaydon Jazz Club was the place to be!
Edis wasn’t too concerned about chronology; Ellington’s five decades as composer were a rollercoaster stylistically, similarly his personal life, public popularity ebbed and flowed with a mid-fifties nadir dispelled overnight at the Newport Jazz Festival. The jazz history books were re-written that rainy night on Rhode Island. Paul Gonsalves’ marathon blues-drenched solo saw Ellington reborn. We didn’t hear Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue a la Newport ’56, not least because the pub hadn’t applied for a late licence! We did hear more classic Ellington; Money Jungle (his brief association with a younger generation of musicians forging a new path), Come Sunday (Edis solo), Satin Doll and to close, Cotton Tail. The audience wanted to hear some more, the trio conferred and said good night with Star Crossed Lovers.
Next month there is a two-concert special. An extra date – Sunday 6 September – sees the phenomenal young guitarist Bradley Johnston in a duo setting with mentor James Birkett.
Lovers of jazz guitar shouldn’t miss this one. If you are yet to hear him play, be prepared to be, as they say, ‘gob-smacked’. Dr Birkett can play a bit too! Then, on the regular third Sunday in the month (20 September), Johnston returns leading his own quartet. The band formed during BJ’s participation in the Jazz Café’s regular jam sessions. Such occasions can be sink-or-swim affairs…it was clear to all that Johnston was in the fast lane! At the Black Bull he will be supported by some of the scene’s most experienced musicians. Get along on the night. Recommended.  
Photos.
Russell

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