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Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, 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

17972 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 293 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (April 22).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

Sat 26: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Darlington. 12 noon. Free (donations).
Sat 26: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 26: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Elvet Methodist Church, Durham. 7:30pm. Tickets: £12.00. + bf. Duo performance.
Sat 26: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.50.
Sat 26: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 27: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Paul Susans, Russ Morgan.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: JustKing Jones @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.50. JustKing Jones (alto sax, soprano sax); Jordan Williams (piano); Jason Clotter (bass); Malcolm Charles (drums). Ace NYC outfit!
Sun 27: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 27: Swing Manouche @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00. Tickets from 01665 711388.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Ken Marley, Russ Morgan.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. 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

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.

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