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Bebop Spoken There

Xhosa Cole: ''Monk was unapologetically himself". (Jazzwise, February 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

17744 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 64 of them this year alone and, so far, 64 this month (Jan. 26).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

Fri 31: Alan Barnes Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 12 noon-2:00pm (two sets). £12.00. admission (card or cash at the door). Barnes (alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet); Alan Law (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums). Note change of venue, no longer at Mrs M’s as advertised, the concert will be in the Old Library (Bishop Auckland Jazz’s regular venue). Important! It’s a ‘BYOB’ arrangement - ie bring your own booze (and/or tea, coffee, soft drinks).
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Café Orkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Gateshead. 6:00pm. ‘Klezmer, Gypsy Jazz, Balkan & More!’.
Fri 31: Nothing in Rambling @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £10.00. + bf. Country blues duo.
Fri 31 Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Wylam Institute. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £15.00. + £1.50. bf.
Fri 31: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £10.00 + bf. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.
Fri 31: Alan Barnes Quartet @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00 Barnes (alto sax, baritone sax, clarinet); Alan Law (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Fri 31: SwanNek + Rivkala @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 8:00pm. SwanNek’s new single launch gig. Pilgrim, formerly Hoochie Coochie.
Fri 31: King Bees @ Blues Underground; Nelson St., Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

February 2025

Sat 01: Alan Barnes & John Hallam with the Tom Kincaid Trio @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - Cy Coleman’s Witchcraft. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 01: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 01: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 01: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Western swing etc.

Sun 02: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 02: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 02: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free (donations).
Sun 02: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 02: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:15-7:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 02: Jive Aces @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Sun 02: John Pope + Andy Champion + Ian Paterson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Subterranean Explorations 1’. Three (half hour) solo bass sets.
Sun 02: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 03: Andy Watt & Dan Rogers @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance. Jazz, blues, folk etc.
Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 04: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:00pm. Free.
Tue 04: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Phillips, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 04: Dilutey Juice + Life Aquatics Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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, March 06, 2017

Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester le Street. March 3

(Review by Russell/Photo on left from Facebook. Credit will be given when known. Other two by Russell).
The fourteenth edition of the Great North Big Band Jazz Festival relocated to a new venue in the County Durham town of Chester le Street. Since its inception, this annual event in the British big band calendar has been staged in Sunderland on the banks of the Wear. Major redevelopments are continuing apace to transform the heart of the city of Sunderland into a vibrant, progressive place to live, work and study. The University of Sunderland continues to give unstinting support to the jazz community, thus ensuring this indispensable event retains its place on the region’s wider cultural map.
For the first time Park View Community Centre welcomed musicians, organisers and audience to the multi-purpose facility located just off Front Street in an historic part of town, little more than a well-struck six from Durham County Cricket Club. Free on-site parking. Food and drink available and space to accommodate something like twenty-nine bands over three days made this an ideal alternative to Sunderland’s North Shore venue.
A change of venue a necessity, the long weekend’s format remains as before. A Festival Big Band and a guest band – this year Mick Donnelly’s Musicians Unlimited – opened proceedings on a wet Friday evening. Big band fans weren’t to be deterred by a disappointing forecast, turning out in encouraging numbers for this annual curtain raiser. 
The Festival Band is a hand-picked outfit. The many familiar faces in the sections sat, or stood, alongside rising stars of the music. Bill Watson is the man responsible for coaching an on-campus student big band throughout the academic year at Sunderland University in addition to being the busy director of the Great North Big Band Festival. A first-night festival concert in which he participates is, perhaps, his reward. Playing both trumpet and flugelhorn, before turning his thoughts once more to the forthcoming two days of non-stop big band competition is, surely, a form of relaxation! Mick Donnelly (a competition adjudicator) made a guest appearance with the band, playing his usual commanding tenor saxophone. County Durham Music Service has an enviable track record nurturing talent, and one of its recent success stories – Alice Buhaenko – on a short break from her studies at Oxford University, presented the band with a new composition to play and to occupy the piano chair on the evening.
Musicians Unlimited is the pride and joy of Hartlepool. An institution, Mick Donnelly’s big band is something like two decades young. If it’s one o’clock on a Sunday you’re likely as not sitting in the Park Inn listening to the band. Occasionally Donnelly and his band ventures further afield to play a concert to new ears in new surroundings. Park View Community Centre was hearing the band for the first time. America’s Jim Martin featured in the pad as arranger and composer, an arrangement by the late Dave Connolly of Georgia featured veteran late-night saloon bar king Bob Caswell, and that mere whipper-snapper of a rat packer Paul Skerritt gave Wonderwall both barrels. Musicians Unlimited breeds trumpet players – Kevin Eland and Tom Hill but two of them. They had a blast, as did the reeds – Sue Ferris excelling on flute. The engine room lads (Mick Shoulder, bass, and Tom Chapman, drums) worked up a head of steam. Sister Sadie, Gordon Goodwin’s Count Bubba, the opening night of the 2017 Great North Big Band Jazz Festival an hors d’oeuvre of things to come.   
Russell            
Musicians Unlimited: Mick Donnelly (MD/tenor); Alan Catherall, Bob Temple, Tom Hill, Kevin Eland, Bill Watson (trumpets); Dave Brock, John Day, Helen Grainger, Peter Morgan (trombones); Jill Nelson, Kim Webb, Mark Toomey, John Hudson, Sue Ferris (reeds); ? (piano); Mick Shoulder (bass); Tom Chapman (drums); Bob Caswell, Paul Skerritt (vocals).     

1 comment :

Paul Skerritt (on F/b) said...

The unidentified photographer is me!

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