Total Pageviews

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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 16: MOBO Song @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 12 noon. Free, performances on the concourse. Line-up inc. Jazz Attack (on stage time TBC) & Jambone (12:20pm).
Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. .

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Matt Forster Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Jazz Milestones - 1975.
Thu 20: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 20: Orange Claw Hammer + Peony @ The Globe, Newcastle.7:30pm. Orange Claw Hammer play Captain Beefheart.
Thu 20: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Featuring special guest Zoë Gilby.

Fri 21: JazzMain @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. TBC.
Fri 21: Emma Rawicz w. Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30pm-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 22: Mississippi MacDonald @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Blues.
Sat 22: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm. £16.50. SOLD OUT!
Sat 22: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

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

Monday, May 16, 2016

Noel Dennis-Paul Edis Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. May 15

Noel Dennis (trumpet & flugelhorn), Paul Edis (keyboards), Andy Champion (double bass) & Russ Morgan (drums)
(Review by Russell/photos courtesy of Roly & Jerry)

The year is 1966…Miles Davis, discarding his mute, addresses the audience…

That was ‘Blue in Green’. We’ve come to our last number this evening, but first…Herbie Hancock [applause], Ron Carter [applause] and Tony Williams [applause]. We hope you have enjoyed your evening here at the Blue Note, we’ll leave you with ‘Now’s the Time’.

The following day’s New York Times: Miles Davis – triumphant at the Blue Note!
 
The year is 2016…Noel Dennis, discarding his mute, addresses the audience…

That was ‘Blue in Green’. We’ve come to our last number this evening, but first…Paul Edis [applause], Andy Champion [applause] and Russ Morgan [applause]. We hope you have enjoyed your evening here at the Black Bull, we’ll leave you with ‘Now’s the Time’.

 The following day’s Chronicle: Noel Dennis – triumphant at the Black Bull!

One of the great trumpet players was in town last night co-leading a band with one of the great piano players. Working with a dream team bass and drums pairing made this one of the memorable nights in the history of the club. For three decades and more thousands of jazz fans have made the pilgrimage to listen to the finest musicians on the scene at one of the legendary venues. Yes, Blaydon Jazz Club knocks the Blue Note into a cocked pork pie hat!

Forget the East River, forget the Hudson, the Black Bull covers the waterfront at Blaydon on Tyne. Perched on high, looking out over the Tyne, the Tyne Valley commuter railway below brushing past the terrace, the sounds of jazz ride the still summer air. The sound of Beautiful Love. Noel Dennis plays jazz at the Black Bull. Lyrical, endlessly inventive, the Teessider returning to the Bridge Street venue – a simple blackboard at the door read Sun. Jazz. 8pm – to renew acquaintance with club impresario Roly Vietch.

Grab a blank sheet of paper. Write down the names of your fantasy quartet. It won’t ever happen, just for fun, you understand:
Trumpet/flugelhorn…Noel Dennis
Piano…Paul Edis
Double bass…Andy Champion
Drums…Russ Morgan

Roly Veitch: How about a hand for the boys in the band? On trumpet and flugelhorn… Noel Dennis [applause], on piano…Paul Edis [applause], Andy Champion, double bass [applause] and Russ Morgan, drums [applause].
Tom Harrell featured – Dennis doesn’t do other than choice material. Little Dancer and Moon Alley to start, Edis’ piano solo on the latter setting the early pace. There would be more Harrell later. There is no Greater Love (Dennis, trumpet) and My Funny Valentine (Dennis, flugelhorn). The first set closer – Nostalgia in Time Square – bridled; Mingus’ rumbling masterwork veering from restrained opening statement to careering solos, first trumpet then piano.

Love for Sale opened the second set. A funk, behind the beat trumpet, rim-shot rhythmic pulse, a different take on a standard. Wayne Shorter’s Fe Fi Fo Fum, Harrell’s Sail Away (Dennis, flugelhorn) bossa style. And then there was Blue in Green. Morgan’s brushes, a muted Miles Davis/Noel Dennis leading a round of solos (Edis, then Champion). It really doesn’t get any better than this. Dennis thanked Veitch for putting on the gig and keeping the jazz flame burning at the Black Bull. The Noel Dennis-Paul Edis Quartet went out on Now’s the Time. Andy Champion wielded the bow to put the New Yorkers in their place (that’s on bended knee) and Russ Morgan’s whirlwind solo swept through a stunned 52nd Street. Hear that? It’s NYC’s drumming fraternity running for cover, later to be found in their loft studios wood-shedding ’til dawn. The jazz flame burns brightly in Blaydon.   

Russell.                       
Photos.

No comments :

Blog Archive