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Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, 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

17957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 278 of them this year alone and, so far, 34 this month (April 14).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.

Fri 18: Alexia Gardner @ Fika Gallery, Oldgate, Morpeth NE61 1LT. 7:00pm. Trio (Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy).RESCHEDULED FOR JUNE 13

Fri 18: Sarah Jane Morris & Tony Remy: The Sisterhood @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. CANCELLED! 7:30pm (doors). £25.00.

Sat 19: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-3:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 19: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 19: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 20: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 20: Salty Dog @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 20: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 20: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 21: Newcastle Record Fair @ Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle. 10:00am. Going in search of the Buddy Bolden cylinder…
Mon 21: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

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, December 09, 2015

Joe Morris Quartet @ The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle - Dec. 6

Joe Morris (gtr); Mat Maneri (viola); Chris Lightcap (bs); Gerald Cleaver (dms).
(Review/photo by Ken Drew).
Making a single day stopover visit to Newcastle for their one and only appearance in the UK during their current European tour, the Joe Morris Quartet were on the button with two sets of free improvisation. Despite travel delays and a demanding tour schedule, they performed as fresh and as keenly as ever.  
The audience at The Bridge (circa 40) came from far and wide (including Wakefield) and listened intently to the two sets. This was improv performed by well-established exponents of their trade.  The music flowed effortlessly, or so it seemed between solos, duos and quartet.  It is, of course, far more complex in its structure and creative inventiveness, than its natural flows would initially suggest.   Their concentration was sometimes hidden through their flawless playing and seamless movement between pieces, each nicely linked by the full force of the quartet, giving way to solo-space where solos were allowed to fully develop.
It’s worth searching out their last CD “Balance” (2014) if only to sample a few tracks.  If you were at this concert then it’s a good reminder of the music and the rather unique occasion we all enjoyed, and if you weren’t there then it’s the next best thing, although lacking the live visuals of concentration and interplay between these masterful players.
What a superb gig – a real coup for Jazz North East, and a memorable gig for those who helped pack the upstairs room at the Bridge. A final word from Joe himself, was to thank the audience not so much for coming along, but for their dedicated concentration which for the band adds to the enjoyment and value of performing this music. Much appreciated, all-round !
Ken Drew

1 comment :

Paul Bream said...

Ken's review of this is spot on . . . the gig was a masterclass by four of the finest and most empathetic improvisers you could find anywhere . . . the spontaneous interaction between them was surely telepathic. But don't just take my word for how good this gig was . . . this is what Joe Morris himself has subsequently emailed: "Wonderful space and audience". And it gets better, because the whole thing was recorded by Jazz North East's in-house engineer Charlie McGovern, and Joe goes on to say: "I'll be writing to Charlie to get the recording. We think it might be the next JM4tet CD, that's how good we felt about the gig".
I don't know of too many live recordings that have emerged from the Bridge Hotel, but when there's a prospect of something from a group of this international brilliance, well, that's next year's Xmas presents all take care of!

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