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Bebop Spoken There

Trevor Mires: ''My mum is a Dean Martin fan: I'm not, so I would grab my skateboard and get out of the house whenever I heard "Everybody Loves Somebody, Sometime." ". (Jazzwise, 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

17972 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 293 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (April 22).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Wed 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 23: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 23: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED!

Thu 24: Mary Coughlan @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £33.80. Blues, jazz etc.
Thu 24: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Duo performance.
Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
Fri 25: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Fri 25: Struggle Buggy @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 25: Paul Skerritt Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £20.30., £18.00. All-star big band.
Fri 25: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums). An Opus 4 Jazz Club event.

Sat 26: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 26: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ Elvet Methodist Church, Durham. 7:30pm. Tickets: £12.00. + bf. Duo performance.
Sat 26: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.50.
Sat 26: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Andrea Vicari Trio @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Vicari (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 27: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Paul Susans, Russ Morgan.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: JustKing Jones @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.50. JustKing Jones (alto sax, soprano sax); Jordan Williams (piano); Jason Clotter (bass); Malcolm Charles (drums). Ace NYC outfit!
Sun 27: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 27: Swing Manouche @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00. Tickets from 01665 711388.
Sun 27: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Xenopoulos, Edis, Ken Marley, Russ Morgan.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

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

Friday, July 14, 2017

Matthew MacKellar’s Farewell Jazz Party @ the Jazz Café - July 13 (Upstairs)

(Review by Russell)
At the conclusion of the opening downstairs’ set (see BSH Editor-in-Chief’s review), fed with crisps and sausage rolls and watered (the bottled variety), your correspondent dashed upstairs to catch a set by the Early Bird Band (BSH Editor-in-Chief’s entourage arrived in the their own time). Dr Edis brought along a liquorice stick and took his place alongside the Earlier Birders as they opened with Four. The regular line-up (more or less) made the gig…James Metcalf (trumpet); Ben Lawrence (trumpet); Matthew Downey (guitar); Phillip Grobe (keyboards), Alex Shipsey (bass) & Dylan Thompson (drums). Matthew Downey featured playing his Gibson on Nature Boy and Blues Walk capped a short, sharp set with the young man of the moment – Matthew MacKellar – replacing the impressive Dylan Thompson for one last blast with the Early Bird Band.

Multi-band events such as Matthew’s jazz party tend to have a pecking order. Whether by accident or design the Francis Tulip Quartet topped the (upstairs) bill. The phrase ‘eagerly anticipated’ was never more appropriate. Three quarters of the band cut their musical teeth playing in Jazz Attack or Jambone or the aforementioned Early Bird Band – Francis Tulip (guitar); Michael Dunlop (bass guitar) & Matthew MacKellar (drums) – and they were joined by Joel Brown (keyboards). Tulip is studying at Birmingham Conservatoire, Dunlop at Guildhall, London, and MacKellar is soon to take Berklee College of Music by storm. Brown is a lower sixth form student. At a guess, the age of the lads - 19, 19, 18 and 16 - could lead some to conclude that they’re ‘promising talents’. Well, if Arts Council types were present (they weren’t) and didn’t know how young they were, the talent spotters would have been throwing money at them right, left and centre, touting them as the ‘next big thing’. This was something special. Guitarist Tulip tore the place apart from the start. Loud(ish), distorted to a degree, technique to burn, if your twenteen this is how you should want to play guitar! Whitley Bay High School pianist Joel Brown is a match for anyone of his age. Coming out of Monk with the certainty that he’ll discover other piano masters, he and Tulip know their stuff. 500 Miles High set a very high standard and the quartet maintained it during an all-too-brief set. I’ll Remember April then a rarely heard TS Monk composition – Green Chimneys – rounded off a terrific set. Bassist Michael Dunlop was most impressive, coming a long way since his studies at Sage Gateshead, ‘secure’ is the word. And the man at the back – Matthew MacKellar – produced an amazing performance. The time, power and invention of the soon to depart MacKellar was something to behold.
 
The Jazz Café was busy, busy, busy. Some didn’t know whether they were coming or going. Barrie Ascroft is a man of few words and as he waited to be called upstairs for Dave Weisser’s set he sat at the piano, playing for himself and anyone who cared to stop and listen. B Ascroft at the upright – now there’s a rarity!

Matthew MacKellar came to the attention of Bebop Spoken Here when sitting-in at Dave Weisser’s Take it to the Bridge workshop. It was, therefore, fitting that the Dave Weisser Combo should close proceedings upstairs. Dave Weisser (cornet & vocals), Ray Johnson (trumpet), Jude Murphy (alto saxophone, flute & vocals), Rachel Richman (alto saxophone), Johannes Dalhuitjsen (tenor saxophone), Roy Stephenson (guitar), Barrie Ascroft (keyboards), Matt Long (bass guitar) & Matthew Fairhurst (drums) + Matthew MacKellar (drums)

A typical Dave Weisser session begins at whenever o’clock and goes on until the musicians in the band shout: Dave! Dave! It’s a quarter past stupid o’clock. Such is Weisser’s enthusiasm that he’ll frequently lose track of time, looking to play the next number in the pad. This farewell party had all the hallmarks of it being another lost in time affair. DW positively encourages all and sundry to take a solo and before you know it, it’s stupid o’clock. From All Blues (Weisser’s incomparable vocals), a Victor Feldman chart, to Tempus Fugit Weisser’s merry band soloed from A to B and back again. Matt Fairhurst graciously stepped aside to allow Matt MacKellar to sign-off with the Dave Wiesser Combo. It was late, but still time to run downstairs to catch the already-in- the-swing jam session.
 
Now then, who’ve we got here? Matthew Downey (guitar), James Metcalf (trumpet), John Pope (double bass), trumpeter-turned pianist Ben Lawrence, Francis Tulip (trumpet)…what? Francis playing trumpet! Dave Weisser joined the knockings, briefly swapping instruments with Metcalf. It was late, it had been a memorable occasion. Finally, Matthew MacKellar, one more time, chose to play All the Things You Are. Someone piped-up: Hip, Hip, Hooray!                     
Russell.

3 comments :

Patti D (on F/b) said...

A fantastic evening - and a great send off to young Matthew! As an aside, I'd just like to add that the only thing missing from the party was a tango dancing demo from Johannes, the tenor sax player from the Dave W Combo. Those who were at the Sotavento Big Band gig at the Globe a few days ago will know what I'm talking about!

Patti D (on F/b) said...

The sausage rolls were yummy too!

ryan said...

yes

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