Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

18037 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 458 of them this year alone and, so far, 36 this month (June 11).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free. Concert performance (open to the public)..
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Gareth John & the SOS Big Band @ The Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £25.00. CANCELLED!

Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: David Gray's Flextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £21.50. ‘Time After Time’.
Fri 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 20: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

Sat 21: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: Phoenix 4 @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: Lapwing Trio @ Wallington, Northumberland. 1:00-2:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £18.00. + £1.08 bf.
Sun 22: JazzMain @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

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

Friday, April 22, 2016

International Jazz Day:The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra - The Music of Dave Brubeck @ Sage Gateshead 0n April 30

SNJO (MD Tommy Smith) featuring Bill Dobbins (piano) and John Nugent (alto saxophone)
(Press release)
The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO) invites all music lovers to join them at Sage Gateshead on International Jazz Day, April 30, in a double celebration of world jazz, and the achievements of one of its most respected figures, Dave Brubeck.
Brubeck was an extraordinary musician who achieved enviable status as a jazz master, a brilliant composer, and as a household name. The SNJO is delighted to have this opportunity to mark Brubeck’s exceptional contribution to modern music and to warmly welcome pianist and arranger Bill Dobbins and alto saxophonist John Nugent as their special guests. 
This particular programme naturally focuses upon the hugely successful work of Brubeck’s famous quartet, and their enthusiastic exploration of unusual time signatures. It had been a conscious decision by Brubeck to delve into polyrhythmic experimentation and improvisational counterpoint. He was suitably rewarded with a million-selling jazz album in Time Out, and a lasting place in jazz history. Few, including Brubeck himself, envisaged making ambitious jazz that had such broad and enduring appeal.
Brubeck brought warmth, intellect, energy and charm to the art of jazz piano; while saxophonist Paul Desmond consistently provided concise, clear and lyrical musicianship. Together with drummer Joe Morello, and bassists Eugene Wright and Joe Benjamin, they created some of the most iconic modern jazz ever made.
The music selected for this concert will bracket the emphatic statement made on Time Out in 1959 with works from the years immediately preceding its release, and the further re-invention that followed on subsequent recordings. During this period, Brubeck was in his prime as a jazz ambassador and a composer of increasing stature. The music that has been selected for these performances is, therefore, a ringing endorsement of his vision, ingenuity, and prowess. 
The SNJO is now a force to be reckoned with as an interpretive instrument with a flair for astonishing customizations. Bill Dobbins has been specially commissioned by the SNJO to arrange all the tunes for these concerts including an exotic vista re-imagined on Rising Sun from Impressions of Japan, and a frantic vision of the Fast Life first described on Countdown:Time In Outer Space. Tommy Smith also provides his own Brubeck-inspired orchestration for saxophones of Paul Desmond's historic chorus on In Your Own Sweet Way as part of a brand new arrangement of a much-loved jazz standard.
Sage, Gateshead   0191 443 4661
(There will be pre-concert talk at 6.45 pm)

1 comment :

Paul Edis (on F/b) said...

JazzAttack are performing on the concourse on the same day 4-4:30 - some amazingly talented young musicians!

Blog Archive