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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, 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

17945 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 266 of them this year alone and, so far, 22 this month (April 8).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.CANCELLED!
Thu 10: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. A Globe fundraiser (all proceeds to the venue).
Thu 10: Exhaust: Camila Nebbia/Kit Downes/Andrew Lisle @ Jesmond URC, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. JNE.
Thu 10: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Feat. guests Ray Dales & Jackie Summers.

Fri 11: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: John Rowland Trio: The Music of Ben Webster @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Rowland (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Fri 11: Imelda May @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 11: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:30-9:00pm. Free (donations).

Sat 12: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 12: Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra + House of the Black Gardenia + King Bees @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 6:30pm (doors). £18.00.
Sat 12: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. £12.00. Event includes swing dance taster session, DJ dance session. Bright Street Big Band on stage 7:30-8:15pm & 8:45-9:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 12: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Imelda May @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £42.20. SOLD OUT!
Sat 12: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 13: Daniel John Martin with Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 13: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 13: Hejira: A Celebration of Joni Mitchell @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £22.50.
Sun 13: Wilkinson/Edwards/Noble + Chojnacki @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20., £11.00. JNE.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Zoë Gilby Quintet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

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

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Funky jazz and howling Hammonds come to Durham

(Press release)
The James Taylor Quartet, who have set the standard for the coolest sounds in acid jazz for over a quarter of a century, are coming to Gala Theatre on Saturday 4 June at 7.30pm.
James Taylor, one of the greatest British instrumentalists of his generation, has taken his trademark howling Hammond organ sound to the masses since the 1980s.
The quartet have produced a bulging catalogue of remarkable albums and show-stopping gigs that continues to see them in hot demand everywhere from Ronnie Scott’s to Rome.
The band’s 2013 Closer To The Moon album release saw James Taylor’s impassioned musical curiosity lead to an ambitious and exciting project bringing together the worlds of jazz and classical music.
Taylor’s infectious trademark stylings, trusty Hammond and the group’s ever-alluring horns converse with a wild array of classical instrumentation, including celeste, vibes, harp, zither, gong, glockenspiel and even tubular bells.
Two years later, The Rochester Mass album pushed the boundaries even further. Recorded in just one day with the forty-strong Rochester Choir, the album is the first time that funk music and a religious mass have been fused. With numerous other albums to their name the band have also touched on genres as diverse as soul, rock and even rap!
The quartet’s relentlessly entertaining tunes, as well as upbeat and energetic live shows, have seen them hailed as one of the most important jazz-pop crossover outfits in British live music.
It was 1986 when the first Quartet coalesced after the demise of psychedelic mod scenesters the Prisoners. Notice of their dexterity in updating the cinematic jazz sound of the ’60s and ’70s, from spy themes to freeform jazz, was duly served with the debut single ‘Blow Up,’ followed by the ‘Mission Impossible’ EP. John Peel was soon offering a Radio 1 session.
The ensuing quarter-century has produced a bulging catalogue of remarkable albums and show-stopping gigs that continue to see JTQ in hot demand everywhere from Ronnie Scott’s to Rome. Along the way, there’ve been chart entries (notably the 1993 hit ‘Love The Life’ featuring Noel McKoy and the parent album ‘Supernatural Feeling,’ both of which nestled in the top 40), a MOBO Award nomination for 1998’s ‘Whole Lotta Live,’ and guest appearances by James with everyone from the Pogues and Manic Street Preachers to Tom Jones’ multi-platinum chart-topper ‘Reload.’
In a career that has embraced jazz, soul, rock, funk and often tipped its hat to classic detective and action movie soundtracks, JTQ delivered their own filmic moment in 1997, contributing ‘Austin’s Theme’ to the score album for ‘Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.’ In 2007, the band completed their full-scale Motown tribute, ‘Don’t Mess With Mr. T,’ featuring guest vocalists Omar, Hil St. Soul and Donna Gardier. The same year brought both the spinoff project James Taylor’s 4th Dimension and a Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Award nomination for JTQ.
Tickets are £17.50 or only £15 for Gala Friends and can be purchased online at www.galadurham.co.uk , in person at Gala Theatre’s box office or by calling 03000 266 600.


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