Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey (to Terence Blanchard): ''You ain't Miles find your own shit to do!'' (DownBeat May, 2026)

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

18548 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 412 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 19) 66

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

From This Moment On

May

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Jordan Jackson @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.80 (inc. bf); £15.40 (inc. bf).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Jazz Classics with Rivkala @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Rivkala (vocals); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Thu 21: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 22: Paul Skerritt @ Market Place, Durham. From 12 noon. Free. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Fri 22: Paul Edis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £9.00. Edis, Andy Champion, Steve Hanley.
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 22: Paul Edis Trio @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £TBC. Edis, Andy Champion, Steve Hanley.

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bywell Hall. 2:00pm. Northumberland County Show.
Sat 23: Paul Edis @ Core Music, Gilesgate, Hexham. 3:00pm. £12.00. A Core Music fundraiser, Hexham Jazz Weekender Day/Weekend ticket not applicable. Hexham Jazz Weekender.
Sat 23: Blyth Big Band @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 6:30pm. £9.00., £5.00.
Sat 23: Paul Edis & Friends @ Musicwonders, Church Chare, Chester-le-Street. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £15.00. www.musicwonders.org. BYOB. SOLD OUT!
Sat 23: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Queen’s Hall Hexham. 7:00pm. £13.50 (inc. bf). Hexham Jazz Weekender.
Sat 23: TC & the Groove Family + Lagos to Longbenton @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sat 23: Davina & the Vagabonds @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £22.00. + £1.50 bf.
Sat 23: Celebrating Wes Montgomery @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 8:15pm. £14.00., £12.00. Hexham Jazz Weekender.
Sat 23: Chris Coull’s Porgy & Bess @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 9:30pm. £16.50 (inc. bf). Hexham Jazz Weekender.

Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 24: SwanNek @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. £11.50 (inc. bf). Hexham Jazz Weekender.
Sun 24: Salty Dog @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free. Donations.
Sun 24: Ben Crosland’s Threeway @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm. £13.50 (inc. bf). Line-up inc. Steve Waterman. Hexham Jazz Weekender.
Sun 24: Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Street Brass Band Bonanza: The Fanfare + Storytellers + Tenth Avenue Band @ The Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £10.00., £8.00.
Sun 24: Charlie Parr @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50. Blues. Jumpin’ Hot Club.
Sun 24: Olly Styles Experience @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00.
Sun 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 8:15pm. £13.50 (inc. bf). Hexham Jazz Weekender. Feat. Jamil Sheriff.
Sun 24: Modern Vikings @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 9:30pm. £16.50 (inc. bf). Hexham Jazz Weekender.

Mon 25: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 26: Noel Dennis Sextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00. A Miles Davis centenary concert (Davis b. 26. 5. 1926). Noel Dennis (trumpet); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums). SOLD OUT!
Tue 26: Lagos to Longbenton @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Fogies of the World Unite!

Paul Bream, in his latest Jazz Alert, refers to a comment made by Bill Harper, no less!,"as Anyway how do you find good songs since the 60s as the art of good song writing died with the advent of Rock & Roll & Andrew Lloyd Webber?"
Paul's comment? "As an example of cloth-eared fogeyism that takes some beating!"
Bill Harper has cloth ears? Perhaps Red Rodney (pictured with Bill), Lockjaw Davis, Sweets Edison, Al Grey and countless other JNE imports would disagree after their Corner House sessions with Bill on piano!
Bill and his wife Anne, now long domiciled in France, have always supported jazz and, in the days of Chris Yates, Jazz North East.
Suddenly, fogey doesn't seem such a bad title!
Lance Fogey

5 comments :

stevebfc said...

Dear Mr Fogey
Does this mean that BSH agrees that there hasn't been a decent tune written since the 60s?
Regards
Steve 'the best tunes are still to be written'

Lance said...

Of course not, I seem to think there was at least one although, I can't think of its name off hand. Maybe it's one of the ones that are still to be written.

JC said...

Whatever about Rock and Roll, like Paul Bream I too would want to champion the songwriting skills of Andrew Lloyd Webber....
JC

Liz said...

agree!

Russell said...

Billy Harper cloth eared? Is this the same Billy Harper who received countless plaudits from American stars visiting the Corner House Hotel in Newcastle to play a Jazz North East engagement? Is this the same Billy Harper who sat poised listening to the codas of the great horn players and found the right chord every time? Calling Billy Harper cloth eared, in this, Jazz North East’s fiftieth year, is to traduce the name of a fine pianist and all those who worked tirelessly to promote memorable gigs.

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