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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18018 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 339 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (May 7).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Tue 13: ???

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Recital (stage 2): Leah Kirk (voice) @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 3:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 14: Jerron Paxton @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £24.20. Excellent country blues multi-instrumentalist.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. BACK IN BUSINESS, all welcome!

Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: The Greatest in Jazz - Guitarists.
Thu 15: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 15: New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). John Garner & John Pope.

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Sophie Speed with the Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ Longframlington Memorial Hall. 7:00pm (doors). Tickets: £12.00. from 01665 570984.
Fri 16: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 16: Peter Donegan & Anthony Donegan @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. ‘Lonnie Donegan - The Stories’.

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

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

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Gateshead International Jazz Festival celebrates Lena Horne centenary









(Press release)
Sage Gateshead celebrates the songs of Lena Horne in her centenary year with BBC Radio 2 presenter Clare Teal, accompanied by her 17 piece Hollywood Orchestra conducted by world class trumpeter/composer Guy Barker. Opening this year’s Gateshead International Jazz Festival (Friday 31 March), ‘The First Ladies of Swing’ celebrates timeless classics from the great American and British songbooks made famous by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson, Peggy Lee and Lena Horne. 
Lena Horne was one of the great African-American figures in 20th century entertainment. She was a dancer, movie star, civil rights activist and singer.  She was also a great friend of Billy Strayhorn, who famously worked with Duke Ellington.

Guy Barker said: “Ella Fitzgerald’s legendary status means that her centenary is such an important milestone that as a result it is very easy to pass by other important artists also born in 1917, of which Lena Horne is one.”
Guy Barker played with Lena Horne for three months at the Adelphi Theatre in London in 1985.

"I would have regular jam sessions with Lena's rhythm section on the stage before the show started. Her musicians included Rodney Jones on guitar and Ben Brown on bass, who I had met before, when they were working with Dizzy Gillespie. Lena would often come on stage, sit on a stool and listen to us play.”

At the heart of this programme are three specially commissioned pieces. Guy Barker has been asked to re-imagine three classics associated with Lena Horne to be performed for the first time at Gateshead International Jazz Festival.  The chosen songs are Stormy Weather, which was Lena Horne’s signature tune, Something to Live For, written by Billy Strayhorn and which Lena often performed, and the ever popular Singin’ in the Rain, which Clare Teal will interpret in her own unique style.

The concert will also feature an eclectic list of songs with music from Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Tim Rice and Sting, honouring the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Nina Simone, Nancy Wilson and Peggy Lee, and including the songs Sans Souc'Secret LoveFeeling GoodLush LifeIt Might As Well Be SpringWild Is The Wind and Paradisi Carousel.


The First Ladies of Swing takes places on Friday 31 March at 7.30pm in Sage One. To book tickets please contact Sage Gateshead Ticket Office either in person or by calling 0191 443 4661 or visit sagegateshead.com/gijf

1 comment :

Liz said...

that looks unmissable, you people up there are so fortunate!

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