Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18897 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 761 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 11.) 40.

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

September.

Thu 17: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 17: Front Porch Blues @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 17: Amphitrio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £7.00. Andrei Petrache (piano); Mike Alex (double bass); Philip Goron (drums).
Thu 17: Miles 100 @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. Jack Courtney (trumpet); Sue Ferris (tenor sax); Tom Atkinson (guitar); Alan Law (piano); Deon Krishnan (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums). A night of Miles Davis.
Thu 24: 58 Jazz Collective @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Stranton, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Free. .

Fri 18: Danny Lownes’ Hot Club @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Mark Williams Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 18: Emma Fisk’s Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00., £5.00. student.
Fri 18: Rivkala + Beccy Sloan @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.

Sat 19: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal. All welcome.
Sat 19: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-5:00pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner: Nina Simone. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 19: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.

Sat 19: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal. All welcome.

Sun 20: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 20: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.

Mon 21: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 21: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. Coltrane centenary.

Tue 22: ???

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A John Coltrane Centenary Concert (b. 23. 09. 1926). SOLD OUT!
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

Bradley Johnston Trio @ The Globe - September 10

Bradley Johnston (gtr); Katy Trigger (bs gtr); Russ Morgan (dms).
(Review by Lance).
Great North Run weekend. Newcastle awash with visitors - thousands of them! So why didn't some of them jog down to The Globe? One assumes that a small percentage of these athletes would be into jazz.
It would appear not. The only Great North Runner present was me - backdated to 1981!
Most of the Jazz Coop regulars were absent - no doubt in training - but, nevertheless, the audience numbered at least, twice as many as the number of musicians on stage which was a plus. On the minus side, if it had been held in the upstairs jazz bar the few would have seemed more and anyone jogging by would have been able to slake their thirst without coughing up a fiver!
Rant over,
Musically it was brilliant. The three players are now so well established on the local scene that I can understand the Coop's expectation of a decent turnout.
However, the best-laid schemes...
The Music.
Bradley opened up  with a solo rendition of Send in the Clouds, as arranged by Louis Stewart and he did the late Irishman proud despite the fact that the clowns didn't arrive. Straight into All the Things You Are and the trio is firing on all cylinders,
Here's That Rainy Day; Blues For BJ, composed for Bradley by his mentor and often duo partner James Birkett, Body and Soul and Donna Lee brought the set to a close. 
Over the river, at the Prohibition Bar in Gateshead, Emma Fisk's Hot Club du Nord were playing so maybe that's where the guitar fans had migrated to.
Still, I'd have thought there'd have been enough of them to fill both venues!
The second set began with The Waters of Tyne. A traditional tune dating back to 1793, Bradley gave a sensitive and emotive interpretation which, him being a Wearsider, must have been difficult!
Coltrane's Giant Steps; Bird's Blues For Alice; Metheney's Farmer's Trust; Four Brothers and Cherokee completed the set.
All three players excelled. Bradley is developing so rapidly that, if he'd been a runner, he'd have been challenging Mo Farrah. Russ simply astounding and Katy as inventive a bass guitarist as you're likely to find in any lineup.
Photos.
Lance.
at

1 comment :

Jude Murphy (on F/b) said...

So wish we could have been there but we already had tickets elsewhere. Why was there so much great music on last night?

Sunday, September 11, 2016 2:05:00 pm

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