Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18621 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 485 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 14) 37

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

June

Sat 20: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tynedale Beer Festival, Corbridge. 5:00-6:00pm.
Sat 20: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 20: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Trinity Church, Gosforth, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. NCRO w. guests Dean Stockdale & Nick Ward.

Sun 21: From Lagos to Longbenton: Unity in the Community @ Sunderland Minster. From 1:30pm. Free. A multi-bill Unity in the Community event, inc. From Lagos to Longbenton.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio w. Graham Hardy.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 22: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 23: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 23: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 24: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 25: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 25: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Forgotten Ones & Any Quintets.
Thu 25: Edgar Ho Trio @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free. Brilliant alto sax, piano & double bass trio. Unmissable!
Thu 25: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 26: Finn-Keeble Group @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £9:00.
Fri 26: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 26: Clark Tracey @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Newcastle Jazz Festival. £26.00. Day 1/2.

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Phil Woods (Nov. 2, 1931 - Sept. 29, 2015)

One of the all-time great alto players, Phil Woods, passed away yesterday (Sept. 29). Heard him live only once - North Sea Jazz Festival back in the 80's but many times on disc. The early 10" LPs with fellow altoist Gene Quill, the European Rhythm Machine with Gordon Beck and on to the various mainland Europe big bands. An ace player. However, what I think really endeared him to me and the wider public was his solo on Billy Joel's Just the Way You Are. Was there ever a more lyrical alto sax solo on a pop record? No - Baker St. doesn't even get close!
He embodied the spirit of Charlie Parker, merging it into his own creative playing to become, until yesterday, the greatest living alto saxophone player.
Phil Woods was 83.
May he Rest In Peace - sadly missed throughout the jazz world.
Lance.
Phil Woods was never short of  an observation as these quotes from our Bebop Spoken There archives show!
Phil Woods: "In ancient times, teaching was a sacred profession. Now we are in awe of our artists but not of our teachers. That is reflected in what we pay them." -  (Downbeat September 21, 1967.)
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Phil Woods: "What do all these words mean? Avant garde, loft jazz, fusion, ultra fusion, Dixieland, trad, bebop. Our history is too short to have so many sub-divisions; we've gone through more periods than mankind has in 5,000 years, and jazz is not even 100 years old." - (Crescendo September 1977).
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Phil Woods: "My kids love the fact that I worked with Steely Dan and Paul Simon! They're much more impressed than about me working with Ben Webster." -(Crescendo September 1977).
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Phil Woods: “When Benny [Goodman] died John Frosk called Jerry Dodgion and said 'I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that Benny died last night. The bad news is that he died in his sleep'.”-  (Jazz Journal October 1996).
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Phil Woods: "I'd inherited a horn from my uncle's will and had no interest in playing it. In fact, I planned to melt the saxophone and make toy soldiers out of it but my mom urged me to take lessons." - (Downbeat July 2007).
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Phil Woods: “When I listen to a band like the BBC Big Band, and all the fine young musicians in it – my God. I have ties older than they are!" - (Jazz Journal 2008.)
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Phil Woods: “I’m 79 with the body of a 78-year-old.” -  Downbeat, February 2012.).
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