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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, 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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
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.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

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

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Mike Durham’s Classic Jazz Party @ The Village Hotel. Nov 4, afternoon

(Review by Russell).
The 2016 edition of Mike Durham’s Classic Jazz Party began with an informal session on Thursday evening in the Village Hotel’s on-site Victory Pub. Early arriving guests – they came from all over the world! – sat with a drink to listen to some of the star names of this year’s festival. Musicians arrived a day or two ahead of Friday’s official start to catch-up, rehearse and – in theory – sleep-off jet lag.
Friday 8:00am. Rehearsal time, then non-stop classic jazz over the weekend. Sleep would have to wait until an early Monday morning flight out of Newcastle International Airport!
            
Twelve noon: Tribute to Mike. Maestro Keith Nichols led a session dedicated to the late Mike Durham, founder of the Whitley Bay Jazz Festival, now known as ‘Mike Durham’s Classic Jazz Party’. The participation of Phil Rutherford (brass bass or sousaphone, if you will) maintained the local connection of a now truly international event. A further six half   or one hour sets during the afternoon session ranged from Jelly Roll Morton to Grappelli,  Bix and Clarence Williams, concluding with Menno Daams’s survey of Chicago’s pivotal role in the  development of the music.

Emma’s Hot Club Jazz featured Grappelli/Venuti virtuoso Emma Fisk leading a strings’ super group comprising Thomas ‘Spats’ Langham and Jacob Ullberger, guitars and Henri Lemaire, bass. A superb thirty minutes, Fisk imperious, the quartet played I’m Confessin’ with the Hot Club’s original introduction and coda. The very best of hot jazz, the highest of standards. Bix and his Gang - 1927 went about their business, maintaining the quality courtesy of Andy Schumm, cornet, Bixian slick-back hair ‘n’ all. At the Jazz Band Ball, a stompin’ Royal Garden Blues, Jazz Me Blues, this was a classy session, a full strength US contingent in support – Jim Fryer, trombone, the brilliant David Boeddinghaus, piano and the equally brilliant Josh Duffee, drums – alongside Europeans Robert Fowler, grappling with the bass saxophone, and the prodigiously talented Lars Frank, clarinet, mark this one down as a winner!

Claus Jacobi, reeds, led a one hour set playing the music of Clarence Williams’ Bands. The washboard band of the late 20s-early 30s trained the Inspiration Suite’s spotlight on Gunther Andernach. There can’t be too many washboard virtuosi; Mr Andernach has to be one of them! Martin Litton and Spats Langham’s Library of Congess – Volume 3 is proof, if any were needed, of the encyclopedic knowledge of the participants’ specialist subjects. Pianist Litton and the ever-popular Langham revisited the Library of Congress’ Alan Lomax interviews with Jelly Roll Morton. A rich seam awaits to be mined in 2017, 2018 and on.

Holland’s Menno Daams closed the afternoon session with a look at The Chicagoans. A stellar line-up (they are never less than stellar at the Classic Jazz Party) included Thomas Winteler (a Bechet man, for sure), New Orleanian pianist Boeddinghaus and UK vocalist Janice Day.   


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