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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17822(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 143 of them this year alone and, so far, 68 this month (Feb.25).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Jamie McCredie @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. THIS WEEK ONLY JAMES BIRKETT (guitar)!
Fri 28: Luis Verde Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Knats @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.50. (inc bf.). Album launch gig. Support act TBC.
Fri 28: Black is the Color of My Voice @ The Gala, Durham. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by the life of Nina Simone, performed by Florence Odumosu.
Fri 28: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival: Musicians Unlimited @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 8:00pm. £10.00. (Weekend ticket £20.00., available on the door). Day 1/3. Musicians Unlimited in concert.
Fri 28: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

MARCH 2025

Sat 01: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 11:00am. £15.00. Day 2/3.
Sat 01: TJ Johnson Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Get your funk on! Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ The Watch House, Cullercoats. 2:00-3:30pm. Free.
Sat 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Lapwing Jazz Trio @ Three Sheets to the Wind, Alnwick. 5:15pm or 5:45pm (times tbc). Part of the Alnwick Story Festival's music fringe programme: Free.
Sat 01: Struggle Buggy @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Blues band.
Sat 01: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Joseph O’Brien: The Ultimate Tribute to Frank Sinatra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. O’Brien & seven piece band (inc. Wendy Kirkland, Jim Corry & Pat Sprakes).
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 01: Jack & Jay’s Vintage Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 02: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 11:00am. £10.00. Day 3/3.
Sun 02: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 02: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free (donations).
Sun 02: Side Café Orkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Derwentwater Road, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 02: Milne Glendinning Band @ The White Room, Stanley. 6:30pm.
Sun 02: Bella by Barlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 02: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Spittal Bowling Club, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 02: Ali Watson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 03: Milne Glendinning Band @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. Tel: 0191 237 3697. 12:30pm. £8.00. ‘Jazz ‘n’ Pancakes’.
Tue 04: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 04: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. 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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