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Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 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

17873 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 194 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (March 14).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

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: Swamp Stomp String Band @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Sat 22: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: The Great Deceivers @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Tom Atkinson & co play King Crimson (1969-1974). Atkinson (guitar); Josh Bentham (alto sax); Stu Dawson (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums).

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: Fred Wesley & the New JB’s @ The Cluny. 7:30pm (doors). £27.50. POSTPONED! New date Wednesday 26 November.

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Hannabiell & Midnight Blue @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 27: Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Superb blues duo.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm.
Fri 28: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 28: Mostly Moonlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 28: Juliana Day & Manon McCoy @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00. advance. JNE.

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, October 03, 2016

Tcha Limberger & His Budapest Gypsy Orchestra @ Sage Gateshead. October 2

Tcha Limberger (violin & vocals), Feher Istvan (cimbalom), Lukás Csaba (clarinet), Olah Norbert (brac), Ruszo Istvan (violin) & Vilmos Csikos (double bass)
(Review by Russell/Photo courtesy of Peter Ninnim).
Manouche multi-instrumentalist Tcha Limberger grew up on Django. At six he began to play guitar, he has long since attained virtuoso status. At a comparatively late age (all of seventeen) he decided to learn to play the violin. In next to no time Limberger was more than proficient, in fact, a virtuoso.
Tcha Limberger arrived at Sage Gateshead to fulfill the final date on a nationwide tour. A receptive Sage Two audience greeted the Belgian and his Budapest Gypsy Orchestra with enthusiasm. Some had heard Limberger on a previous visit, others were new to his music. The evening began with one noticeable absentee – the indisposed cellist Szegfu Károly – as the band elected to perform as a sextet.
Sage Two’s exceptional acoustics didn’t escape the ear of Limberger and the band played entirely without amplification (Vilmos Csikos’ double bass included) and no requirement for a PA system. The engaging Limberger spoke in impeccable English, his voice clearly heard throughout the hall, and sang in, no doubt, perfect Hungarian. A clever man is Tcha Limberger!             

Hungarian musicians advised Limberger that he would never be able to fully appreciate a music alien to him, a language he didn’t speak. Undeterred, our violin virtuoso decided to learn the language! On stage at Sage Gateshead, the Belgian-born musician led his Gypsy Orchestra as a fully paid up member of Budapest’s music fraternity. A master violinist, a tenor voice of unbridled passion, Limberger’s assimilation of the nuances of a nineteenth-century musical form, hitherto a foreign culture to him, impressed not only the Gateshead audience, but also his Hungarian comrades. Song titles weren’t announced; Limberger’s assertion that all of them were about universal themes – love, heartbreak etc – met with a collective nod of approval. Spectacular cadenzas, effortless, swashbuckling solos, Tcha Limberger had it all.

Standing in front of Feher Istvan’s cimbalom, our Manouche bandleader turned variously left to invite the seated clarinet master Lukás Csaba to rise and unleash unbelievable solo contributions, the speed of which defied eyes and ears; then to Feher to breeze across the many hundreds of strings of the cimbalom. Csaba elicited the cry: Bravo! Feher received thunderous applause. Dazzling and dizzying, each and every number captivated those in attendance. Limberger drew our attention to the work of Olah Norbert. Sitting to Tcha’s right, the role of the brac instrument, we learned, is central to the music. Continuously in action, the viola, as known to Western audiences, took on a new dimension! Double bass player Vilmos Csikos deployed unamplified, lower register bowing throughout. This was a Sage Gateshead master class from all concerned. The virtuoso sextet deservedly won an encore. Until next time…                                 
Russell.

2 comments :

Patti D. said...

It was a wonderful concert - full of passion and musical dexterity - it didn't matter that we couldn't speak Hungarian ..... the emotions overflowed from the stage!

Unknown said...

Hello Patti would to ask about the concert if you have any vidoe you want to send thanks

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