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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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. 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, July 24, 2017

Key Moments 2


Following on from David Brownlow's Key Moments, here are a few of mine...
At the Jazz Band Ball by Muggsy Spanier and Intermission Riff by Stan Kenton hit me simultaneously which was all wrong.  Back then it had to be either one or the other. If you liked Dixieland then you turned your nose up at Progressive Jazz and vice versa. Likewise, if you went for the Bunk Johnson/George Lewis brand of New Orleans it was heresy to even mention Bird or Diz in the same breath. Today there are still pragmatists in both camps who maintain this tunnelled vison approach.
Birth of the Blues by Frank Sinatra. One of his last recordings for Columbia before moving over to Capital and those classic long-players: Wee Small Hours, Swingin’ Lovers, Swingin’ Affair etc. Birth of the Blues was important inasmuch as it removed Guy Mitchell, Eddie Fisher, Johnny Ray from my record shelves. The B (flip) side, Why Try to Change me Now?, remains the benchmark for ballad singing.
Hearing the Emcee Five at The Downbeat in Newcastle; Jimmy Miller playing great piano at a pub in Blaydon; Sunday mornings at The Bluebell in Felling, The University Theatre, in Newcastle, The City Vaults down the Bigg Market; The Tally Ho in Kentish Town.
Playing with the Newcastle Big Band at the San Sebastian Jazz Festival.
The characters: Jurich who ran the New Orleans Club, Andy Hudson, who ran the aforementioned big band, Brian Fisher who fell asleep at the piano whilst playing a Glenn Miller number with the band, and Keith Crombie – a Newcastle legend. I’d known of Crombie for years, even before he took over the original Jazz Café but had steered clear of him due to the picture of him painted by The Establishment. The Establishment and Crombie were natural enemies. However, when I did get to know him I found that beneath that gruff exterior there was an even gruffer interior – until he got to know you and decided you weren’t going to stab him in the back. Knowledgeable and opinionated on just about everything he’d listen to your argument, nod as if in agreement then dismiss it with words you wouldn’t find in The War Cry. The procession through the streets of Newcastle on the day of his funeral was akin to the passing of the wearer of a NUFC number 9 shirt.
Listening to Roland Kirk in concert at a Durham college; Guy Lafitte, Bob Wilber & Warren Vaché at Breda Jazz Festival; Art Pepper at the University Theatre; Carol Kidd at a pub in Edinburgh; Meeting Daryl Sherman at North Shields; meeting Eric Delaney at South Shields – the list is endless.
Let’s have your lists…
Lance.
PS: Not forgetting working with Ronnie McLean and Hughie Aitchison at J.G.Windows Music Store.

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