Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, 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, May 01, 2017

The New Century Ragtime Orchestra - Summer Concert with Martin Litton (piano) & Nick Ward (drums) - Friday June 9

(Press release/photo from archives)
Greetings from the New Century Ragtime Orchestra!  Why not beat the General Election blues by coming along to our next concert, arranged for the day afterwards?
Tickets are now on sale for our summer concert on Friday 9 June at Gateshead's Caedmon Hall with our guests, Martin Litton (piano) and Nick Ward (drums), also featuring the New Century's own Caroline on vocals.
Martin is an internationally renowned pianist, arranger and bandleader, who plays all the classic jazz styles with immaculate precision, and who has recorded with many of the jazz greats including Humphrey Lyttleton and Kenny Ball.  Nick of course is a regular guest with the New Century, probably the country's foremost drummer in the vintage jazz style.
 Tickets (£15) are best reserved in advance from Dave Kerr on  0191 281 4011 or at ragtimedavekerr@aol.com and can be paid for on the night.  Advanced sales permitting, tickets will also be available on the door, which opens at 7 and the show starts at 7.30 pm.  Tickets can also be obtained through the venue's box office on 0191 433 6965 or by clicking this link:
For those who haven't been before, the Caedmon Hall is situated within the Central Library on Prince Consort Road, Gateshead NE8 4LN.  It's an intimate venue with excellent acoustics, bar facilities, disabled access and free parking.
We hope you can join us for another entertaining evening of ragtime, hot dance music and early swing, all anarchically presided over by reedman Steve Andrews!
Phil Rutherford
The New Century Ragtime Orchestra
This twelve-piece orchestra plays music from the dawn of Ragtime in the 1890’s through to the early Swing Era of the 1930’s.

Lovingly recreated from the original sheet music and painstakingly scored for full ensemble, we perform not only ragtime composers such as Scott Joplin but also the classic jazz and hot dance music of the 1920’s, and the early swing of Duke Ellington.

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