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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

17945 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 266 of them this year alone and, so far, 22 this month (April 8).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.CANCELLED!
Thu 10: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. A Globe fundraiser (all proceeds to the venue).
Thu 10: Exhaust: Camila Nebbia/Kit Downes/Andrew Lisle @ Jesmond URC, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. JNE.
Thu 10: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Feat. guests Ray Dales & Jackie Summers.

Fri 11: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: John Rowland Trio: The Music of Ben Webster @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Rowland (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Fri 11: Imelda May @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 11: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:30-9:00pm. Free (donations).

Sat 12: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 12: Rob Heron & the Tea Pad Orchestra + House of the Black Gardenia + King Bees @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 6:30pm (doors). £18.00.
Sat 12: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. £12.00. Event includes swing dance taster session, DJ dance session. Bright Street Big Band on stage 7:30-8:15pm & 8:45-9:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 12: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Imelda May @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £42.20. SOLD OUT!
Sat 12: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 13: Daniel John Martin with Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 13: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 13: Hejira: A Celebration of Joni Mitchell @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £22.50.
Sun 13: Wilkinson/Edwards/Noble + Chojnacki @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20., £11.00. JNE.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Zoë Gilby Quintet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

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

Sunday, July 30, 2017

LP Review: Dave Gold Big Band - Heaven on Their Minds

(Review by Lance).
Recorded for a BBC Radio 2 Jazz Club broadcast that was aired on August 11, 1974, this limited edition vinyl release features, major British jazz soloists such as Ronnie Ross, Chris Pyne and Dankworth drummer, Harold Fisher alongside some A-list session men of the time.
MD Gold, son of the legendary Harry Gold (of Pieces of Eight fame), arranged all four tracks and composed two of them. He retains many of the big band conventions whilst incorporating the funk/rock rhythms that were becoming so much a part of the jazz scene at the time and which, indeed, have stayed with us in one form or another ever since. To draw a parallel, the Woody Herman Band on their Light my Fire album were working the same side of the street.
Nostalgia Ain't What it Used to be, cleverly mixes the past with the present (1974). Ross' baritone on the head could almost have been played by Gold's dad although Harry's solo wouldn't have been in the same timescale as Ronnie's. Girvan's guitar may have upset the purists at the time but, in retrospect, it was just right.
Just right, in fact, summarises this whole LP. Derek Gutteridge's flute's a revelation - listen to Jimmy Webb's Pocketful of Keys. Fisher's an ace kit man throughout.
Lloyd Webber may not have intended for Heaven on Their Minds, the title track, to be a swinger when he wrote Jesus Christ Superstar. In fact, he may well have deleted Superstar and replaced it with an exclamation mark when he heard this version!
O'Connell Street, the first original (Nostalgia being the second), has a jaunty Dublin feel about it as well as a funky raunchiness that fits the era nicely.
Apart from the music, it feels good to lovingly caress a solid vinyl disc in a sleeve built to last and with a sound that filled every nook and cranny when I came to play it.
Who says that Nostalgia Ain't What it Used to be? It sure is!
The Dave Gold Big Band - Heaven on Their Mind is available on pre-order limited edition vinyl [500 copies] or digital download from My Only Desire Records.
Release date: August 25, 2017.
Lance.
Dave Gold (MD); John Huchridge, Mike Davis, Terry Noonan, Don Morgan (trumpets); Roy Huchridge, Pete Smith, Chris Pyne, Maurice Pratt (trombones); Dennis Walton, Ronnie Machie (alto); Brian Ashe (tenor/flute); Derek Gutteridge (flute); Ronnie Ross (baritone); Cliff Hall (elec. piano); John Girvan (guitar); Les Hurdle (bass guitar); Harold Fisher (drums). - 1974.

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