Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat 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

19,012 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 876 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 16) 55.

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

October.

Sat 17: SunOrbitUs @ Culture House, Sunderland. 11:00am - 5:00pm. Closing event in a year-long piece of music. 11:00am-1:00pm Improvisation workshop w. Faye MacCalman; 2:00-5:00pm Collective Improvised Performance by Sunderland residents. SOLD OUT!
Sat 17: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 17: Martin Taylor @ Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £48.72; £43.37. Solo guitar. SOLD OUT!

Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Jump jive.
Sun 18: Guisborough Big Band @ Redcar Rugby Club. 5:00-8:00pm. ‘Charity Big Band Birthday Bash’ in aid of Parkinson’s UK & Young Sounds UK. Free (donations on the door).
Sun 18: Martin Taylor @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £23.30. Solo guitar.
Sun 18: Ben Crosland Quartet with Steve Waterman @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Sue Ferris Quintet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Pete Tanton (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Tue 20: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Head, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Tickets from Tully’s, Rothbury. Coquetdale Jazz. Note change of venue.
Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Scotty Adair.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: FILM: Blue Moon @ Washington Arts Centre. 1:00pm. £4.50 (inc. bf). Biopic of lyricist Lorenz Hart.
Wed 21: De'Sean Jones’ Urban Art Orchestra @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.; £5.00. student, unwaged; free to Mercury Awards ticket holders. De'Sean Jones (tenor sax, EWI); Tjoe Man Cheung (guitar); Mikele Montolli (double bass) + others TBA.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 21: Roby Glod-Steve Sewell Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Thu 22: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 22: Mercury Prize @ Utility Arena Newcastle. 8:00pm. £60.25.; £48.75. Line-up inc. Knats.
Thu 22: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bandstand!, Exhibition Park, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.20 (inc. bf) via Instagram. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Thu 22: Olly Styles Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.75.

Fri 23: Sara Oschlag w. Arnie Somogyi Trio @ The Lit & Phil. 1:00pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); John Hirst (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Emma Fisk’s Hot Club du Nord @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Maja Bugge & Dave Evans @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Fri 23: Knats @ King Street Social Club, North Shields. 7:00pm. £17.00., £14.70., £11.30., £5.50. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.
Fri 23: Sara Oschlag & Arnie Somogyi w. Ben Lawrence @ Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (keyboards); Arnie Somogyi (double bass).
Fri 23: Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook @ Redhills, Durham. 8:00pm. James Pearson (piano); Sam Burgess (double bass); Chris Higginbottom (drums); Alex Garnett (sax); Polly Gibbons (vocals). Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: SwanNek + Jacob Egglestone @ Fabio’s Bar, Durham. 9:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

...with friends @ Newcastle o2 Academy. October 19

(Review by Russell)
Study Music at Sage Gateshead…
Nick Pride and the Pimptones with friends…
Plus Special Guests…
So read the blurb on the ticket stub. Sage Gateshead’s annual parade of tutor talent upped sticks for one night only to perform at Newcastle’s o2 Academy. An audience comprised of students and a handful of ex/non-students heard how it could/should be done. The jazz grapevine suggests the new student intake shows great promise. Expect to hear them out and about in the coming months.       
Quality is the word. The core Coast Road ensemble (Dave Camlin, Bex Mather, Bethany Elen-Coyle and Paul Susans) opened the show in typically understated fashion – walk on, plug in (acoustic guitars) and play. Original material, one of which Bex Mather sang with the Sapphires, reworked for the occasion, the vocal harmonies spot on, the quartet joined on a couple of numbers by friends Rob Walker and Paul Edis. Dave Camlin alluded to an all-too-familiar irritant – the ‘be a star in five minutes’ illusion – with Tonight Matthew, a proper tune about being oneself.
Coast Road: Dave Camlin (guitar & vocals), Bex Mather (guitar & vocals), Bethany Elen-Coyle (guitar & vocals) & Paul Susans (double bass, electric bass & vocals) + Rob Walker (drums) & Paul Edis (keyboards).

The jazz set featured Triptych. An established, occasional gigging unit, the trio played for about half an hour, four tunes, straight through, applause optional, suggested Paul Edis. It was encouraging to see Sage students (jazz, commercial, popular music, folk, community music) standing, drinks in hand, listening to their tutors, perhaps thinking ‘one day…’.  
Triptych: Paul Edis (keyboards & clarinet), Paul Susans (double bass) & Rob Walker (drums)  

Revue time! Get on down to the Pimptones. Sharp suits, sharp haircuts and on-the-money jazz-funk dancehall (Northern) soul. Killer rhythm boys Ian Paterson and Oz Cassidy had a ball, main man Nick Pride fired-off riff after riff and the Pimptones’ horns gave as good as they got; scorching alto from Alex Saxon, lung-busting trumpet from Keith Nicholson.
Two numbers in, welcome Ms Beth Macari! Hair and heels, the Pimptones’ soul sister hit the ground running. Belting out the vocals, holding her own amidst a non-stop super soul revue, Macari added another energetic dimension to Nick Pride’s blistering outfit as Sage students danced themselves into the ground. One more tune! One more tune! their plea  A request the Pimptones could hardly refuse. We got one more tune. Quite a night.                   
Nick Pride & the Pimptones: Nick Pride (guitar & vocals), Alex Saxon (alto saxophone, flute & vocals), Keith Nicholson (trumpet & vocals), Ian Paterson (electric bass & vocals), Oz Cassidy (drums) & Beth Macari (vocals).
Russell.

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