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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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

17630 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 904 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (Dec. 20).

From This Moment On ...

December

Wed 25: Wot? No jazz!

Thu 26: The Boneshakers @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. The 17th annual Boneshakers’ Shindig.

Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. Business as usual!.
Fri 27: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 27: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sat 28: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 11:30am. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 28: Fri 20: Castillo Nuevo @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy, Rich Herdman & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 28: Ray Stubbs R & B All-Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Stepney Bank, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sun 29: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 29: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 30: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.

Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington (National Trust), Cambo, Morpeth NE61 4AR. 12 noon & 2:00pm. Admission to site £19.00.
Tue 31: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Tue 31: Archie Brown & Friends @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00-8:00pm. Free.

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

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

New facility for National Jazz Archive

 




PRESS RELEASE
19 January 2016
National Jazz Archive opens new department in Southend on 6 February
The National Jazz Archive is opening a new facility at the Beecroft Gallery in Southend’s emerging cultural quarter on Saturday 6 February.
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and the National Jazz Archive – which boasts the UK’s finest collection of written, printed and visual material on jazz, blues and related music – have signed a 10-year service level agreement which will see a new department of the Archive operate on the lower floor of the Beecroft Gallery in Southend, Essex.
The public opening will be from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 6 February 2016, with a celebration to launch the facility. There will be conducted tours of the research collections and museum exhibits, including the trumpets of Louis Armstrong, Nat Gonella and Humphrey Lyttelton, extensive papers from Humphrey Lyttelton, and Sir John Dankworth’s first piano. There will be music playing all day – with a live session headed by tenor saxophonist Simon Spillett at 3pm. Simon will also host showings of the new DVD about the great saxophonist Tubby Hayes ‘A Man in a Hurry’ at 1pm and 2pm (times to be confirmed).
The National Jazz Archive (Southend) will then be open to the public from 10am to 5pm on Saturdays. Planned features in the future include:
·         A research collection of books and periodicals
·         Supporting collections of recorded jazz and interviews with jazz musicians
·         Facilities for internet research and liaison with the Archive’s headquarters at Loughton, Essex
·         Travelling and in-house exhibitions of jazz, art and artefacts
·         Displays of instruments and jazz memorabilia.
The Archive hopes to recruit more volunteers to supplement its existing team and to secure funding so that it can further expand its activities.
Cllr Mrs Mary Betson, Executive Councillor for Enterprise, Tourism & Economic Development, said:
“Our aspiration as an authority is to cement our position as the leading hub for culture in the East of England, so attracting the National Jazz Archive is another great coup for the Borough.
“Culture is not only critical for our continued ability to draw tourists to our town and shores but also makes an enormous contribution to the wellbeing of our residents. That’s why the Council was keen to support the National Jazz Archive in their hunt for more space for expansion and why I’m delighted to be able to welcome the Archive to a part of the town that, with the museum, planetarium and recently relocated Beecroft Gallery, is rapidly establishing itself as a cultural quarter.
“I look forward to its opening on 6 February.”
Digby Fairweather, founder of the National Jazz Archive, said:
“This wonderful development represents the most significant advance in the preservation of jazz’s culture since the National Jazz Archive opened in Loughton in 1988, and its arrival opens the door for endless possibilities in the future, including the establishment of a national jazz centre for the UK.”
The new National Jazz Archive facility is at the Beecroft Gallery, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 6EX. www.southendmuseums.co.uk
For further information contact Nick Clarke, National Jazz Archive, 020 8502 4701 or enquiries@nationaljazzarchive.org.uk
The Beecroft Gallery
About the National Jazz Archive
The National Jazz Archive is a registered charity based in Loughton Library in Essex. It was founded in 1988 by Digby Fairweather, and holds the UK’s finest collection of written, printed and visual material on jazz, blues and related music, from the 1919 to the present day. The Archive holds more than 4000 reference books, specialist periodicals and bulletins spanning over 600 titles, archival material, artwork, ephemera and photographs. It is open on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 1pm.
The Archive's vision is to ensure that significant jazz material should be safeguarded for future generations of enthusiasts, professionals and researchers. The Archive received a Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 2011 that supported a three-year access development project ‘The Story of British Jazz’ enabling the collection to be fully conserved and catalogued for the first time. Significant items were digitised and are now accessible online.
The Archive was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant in Autumn 2015 for an 18-month ‘Intergenerational Jazz Reminiscence’ project. Work on this started at the beginning of 2016.
The National Jazz Archive, Loughton Library, Traps Hill, Loughton, Essex IG10 1HD
Beecroft Gallery
The Gallery is on Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, next to the Central Museum and close to the Civic Centre and Courthouse. A pay & display car park is beside the Gallery. Disabled parking is behind the Gallery.
Southend Victoria train station, on the Liverpool Street line from London, is just two minutes’ walk from the Gallery. Southend Central train station, on the London Fenchurch Street line, is a 5–10 minute walk.
Many local buses stop next to Southend Victoria Station.
Jazz in Southend
Although the pre-war history of jazz in Southend remains misty, its position as a significant centre for the music since 1945 is unquestionable. From then and throughout the 1950s there were jazz clubs in the town as well as major venues including the Kursaal (which hosted all the greatest big bands of the era), the Odeon Cinema and Cliffs Pavilion. In turn these welcomed American jazz legends including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Oscar Peterson, Woody Herman and many more.
Today, there are five flourishing jazz clubs in the town which regularly feature top names from London’s jazz scene as well as local professional performers.  Southend Bandstand features many local jazz bands during the weekend summer concerts.

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