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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

1803759 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 480 of them this year alone and, so far, 58 this month (June 18).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 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

Friday, December 02, 2016

Alter Ego @ Empty Shop, Durham - December 1

Keith Robinson (alto), Niall Armstrong (tenor, flute), Dave Hignott (trumpet, flugelhorn), Andy Hawking (keys), Tony Abell (bass), David Francis (drums).
(Review by Steve T)
In an attempt to keep the wife from the door, that's the exit, and with so much going on over the next three weeks, I decided to make this gig one [set] only. I thought musicians/promoters gave our bank accounts a break in December! 
I wasn't sure if I'd seen this band before and I'm still not; maybe I saw them under another name. I'll get my coat.
With natives of places like Blyth and wildest Northumberland on stage, I felt like a Teessider in need of a translator. This linguistic problem was remedied by a set list handed over in the interval. Beauty became Budini, Don't Leave Paris became Dog Leap Bounce. Thereafter I seemed to get the hang of it.  
The rhythm section were solid, the keyboardist slipping seamlessly between a Fender Rhodes electric sound and something close to acoustic piano. No over-indulgence whatsoever from bass and drums, the former taking three solos in the first set alone but with no padding, no needless flash, each solo serving the melody and the piece.
Some Latin, some funk, three first set originals from Niall and you couldn't separate them from originals by McCoy Tyner (Blues on the Corner), Neil Larson (Sudden Samba) and Kenny Garrett (Computer G).
The horns were a revelation, a background in Big Bands a given but I was amazed to find they didn't feature routinely in the same Big Band. The solos, counterpoint and harmonising were all great, the remaining two coming in behind the soloist to give an extra lift. During Niall’s Mustard Mash all three riffed behind the piano solo taking it even higher.

Not quite full to capacity, but cracking thirty by the break, meant a bit more space for the people there. No reflection on the band whatsoever. I'd forgotten how grateful the Empty Shop regulars are, beaming smiles like they can't believe they've landed in a city which has this. A cold night in that 'calm before the storm' period, though your co-host Alison thinks it is Christmas every day, at least in December. Clearly lots going on around the Uni too, with some dressed like Bruce Wayne at a society event and others like his alter ego. I'll get that coat.

Is it still the coolest regular Jazz night in the region? You need to check it out and make your own mind up, but you may need to get there early or you might find yourself listening with the smokers outside the Fighting Cocks, where you'll need a coat, and maybe even someone with a cape.
Steve T.

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