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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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 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. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. 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.

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

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Buck Clayton Legacy Band @Sage Gateshead – a postscript

(Review by Hugh C).
Following Russell's excellent (and accurate) review I would like to add my two penn'orth (1/21st of Three and Six if my maths is correct!).
The brave few ventured forth on the Saturday morning following to attend the Buck Clayton Legacy Band Workshop.   We duly arrived and were ready and waiting (watches synchronised) outside the Northern Rock Foundation Hall at 0955h sharp.  After a while one of the Sage Gatehsead stewards arrived and seemed surprised to find the the tickets we eagerly proffered clearly bore the words Start Time:  10:00 AM.  The band apparently were under the impression that the workshop commenced at 10:30 AM!  One disgruntled punter muttered the word ridiculous, but, hey man – that's Jazz!
The upside was we had time to grab a coffee to take in.  As we entered the Hall the band's instruments were already laid out on their stands ready.  The full line-up from Friday night were there by 1020, no-one looked the worse for wear, although the trombonist, Adrian Fry, did try and blame a lapse of memory during the morning on the earliness of the hour!
The workshop commenced with a rousing rendition of Cotton Tail.  The next musical item was Take the A Train – the first part in the arrangement used in the Friday gig and the second part straight.  The overall format of the morning was music/talk/music....  Alyn Shipton gave a brief introduction as to why the Buck Clayton Legacy Band were playing Duke Ellington (one of the reasons was that Buck and Duke were long-time friends, and indeed Duke Ellington was best man at Buck's wedding).  Each of the Legacy Band musicians was then asked to paint a word picture of the Ellington Band musicians who would have played their instrument(s).  Some of these pictures took the form of a question and answer dialogue between the band members.  The result was a fascinating insight into the history and practice of the Ellington Band and the approach that 21st Century musicians took to this music. 
The next musical item was an illustration of a contrafact - a term apparently only recently introduced to the remainder of the band by Alan Barnes.  A contrafact is a musical composition consisting of a new melody overlaid on a familiar harmonic structure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrafact) and was beautfully illustrated by playing Johnny Hodges' Shady Side (as on the Friday evening), but this time  preceded by a short extract from On The Sunny Side of the Street.
When the time came for Bobby Worth (the self-declared oldest member of the band) to talk drummers he revealed the ace up his sleeve.  Bobby had actually seen the Ellington band play on two separate occasions in London. 
The morning was a tour de force, both on the part of the band themselves and the audience who numbered as many as a cricket team, but were richly rewarded and also contributed themselves to an informed and interesting discussion during the workshop.
The band (as we were informed on several occasions) had a gig to get to in Maidstone the same evening and were keen to get on the road.  An invited audience request of Mood Indigo provided an illustrative Ellingtonian ballad (exquisitely played) followed the band's choice of the more up-tempo Rockin' in Rhythm for a finale.
All in all an excellent combination – and congratulations to Ros Rigby and the Sage for programming these two events.  It's a shame that there was not a larger audience for the workshop, but this was more than made up for by the near sell-out attendance the evening before.
Hugh.

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