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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, October 26, 2015

Double Bill @ Ushaw – Paul Edis & Vasilis Xenopoulos/The Gala Big Band Ushaw College, Durham - October 24

Paul Edis (piano); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax). (Apologies to Gala Big Band – not all names known.)
(Review by Jerry)
If, on my first visit here, I found the bar/café area impressive, the theatre is jaw-dropping! I know as much about architecture as I do about jazz and I guess this is neo-gothic with its panelling and its statues projecting from the beams like benevolent gargoyles. I think I like neo-gothic: I know I liked the jazz!
The opener, Almost Like Being in Love, showed, immediately, the intuitive understanding these two musicians have after a decade or more of playing together. Vas joked that they were like “an old married couple” – each able to finish the other’s musical sentences before they got there themselves. I hope, as half of an old married couple, that this was meant to be a positive! Either way, the interplay between the two instruments/musicians throughout the set was almost uncanny!
Alone Together showed they could do quiet and thoughtful while Night and Day, Latin style as played by Getz, demonstrated that magical interplay to perfection.
Michel Legrand’s sensitive, romantic What Are You Doing for the Rest of Your Life? had the audience thinking “sitting here to listen to you, if that’s OK?” then Monk’s quirky, spiky Well You Needn’t, with a nod to Georgia Brown (who always gets in somewhere, when Vas is playing!) had them tapping their feet again.
A playful Alice in Wonderland followed before Denzil Best’s foot-tapping Move drummed us to the interval. Terrific!
If I (jazznoramus) had to sum up the appeal of Vas as a saxophonist I’d describe it as understated brilliance: no seeking to dazzle with tricks or faze you with too many notes – just sensitive, technically accomplished renditions of great music.
After the interval, Paul Edis donned his musical director/conductor hat while Vas became a guest front-man (on some numbers) with The Gala Big Band…….who were great. I enjoyed seeing them about 12 months ago in Durham and (I hope this is not seen as a “cack-handed compliment” from one who keeps emphasising his lack of musical knowledge) they have come on a ton since then with more “oomph” to the ensemble work and much more confidence with the solos. According to their leader, they are also tackling “more challenging music.”
There was “comfortable” swing with On the Sunny Side of the Street and Li’l Darlin’, which featured a muted trumpet solo by Dave Skipsey. The closing number, Basie’s One o’Clock Jump, had several well-received solos including trombone, trumpet and bass (sorry if I’ve missed anyone!).
In between these we had Edis originals, including some flagged up as “world premières”. Straight to the Point featured solos by one of the youngest, and possibly one of the oldest band members, Francis Tulip on guitar and George Hetherington on piano, which summed up, for me, the laudably inclusive nature of this ensemble.
In the Nick of Time, a filmic piece which felt as though it really ought to have a narrative, gave Matthew Mackellar a chance to solo on drums. But the “stand-out” piece of the set was Techtonic (I hope I got that spelling right as I think there should be a deliberate “h” in there, but haven’t had a chance to check it) which was a jazz-rock fusion on which the baritone saxes and Francis Tulip (very amplified and in his element) moved plates in the distant café! The audience cheered it to the echo!
Jerry.

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