Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18361 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 215 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 8 ), 25

From This Moment On ...

March

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free

Thu 12: Boomslang @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Fri 13: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm . £9.00.
Fri 13: The SH#RP Collective @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Soothsayers + Rookie Numbers @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.

Sat 14: The Too Bad Jims @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. R&B.
Sat 14: NUJO @ Venue, Newcastle University Students’ Union. Time TBC. £15.00. supporter; £10.00. standard; £5.00. student. Seated event.

Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: The Too Bad Jims @ The Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. £12.00. R&B.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Rebecca Poole @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Poole w. Dean Stockdale & Ken Marley. CANCELLED!

Mon 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Scotty Adair (drums).

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, September 10, 2017

Jazz Café October, 2017, Press Release.

Andersson / Pringle / Banner /Pereira 7th October and Michael Messer’s Mitra at The Jazz Cafe 27th October 2017
The 7th October visit to The Jazz Cafe of Andersson / Pringle / Banner / Pereira marks the third appearance at the venue by the group’s pianist Mark Pringle. He first appeared in September 2015 with his critically acclaimed Moveable Feast Trio (The Independent described Mark at this time as “stupendously talented”) and returned in 2017 in a stunningly good duo with trumpeter Tom Syson.
Between times, on the prestigious European Jazz Masters Programme, Mark has been completing a Masters degree in Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Berlin, opening himself respectively in those cities to free improv, world music rhythms and in Berlin, where he lives, to a mix of everything musical. And - at the same time - connecting with musicians from all over Europe and beyond.
This new quartet brings together three of his favourite musicians to explore their shared and contrasting influences, each musician contributing compositions to the mix. Expect simple melodies, driving swing and influences ranging from Scandinavian folk music, to American drummer and percussionist Paul Motian and the 20th-century Hungarian composer Bela Bartok to name only a few.
Mark’s collaborators in the band are Tobias Andersson, guitar from Sweden, who he describes as “a really lyrical and mature player with a strong emphasis on sound and space,” João Lopes Pereira, drums from Portugal, described by Mark as having “a special touch and natural feeling for swing” and as being “incomparable....in the young European generation” and James Banner, double bass, Mark’s oldest musical associate, another inhabitant of the Berlin creative music scenes and a member of the 2015 Moveable Feast Trio.
Michael Messer, slide guitarist, singer and blues and roots innovator has been touring and recording successfully for over 30 years, receiving a string of awards and in 2008 launching Michael Messer Resonator Guitars.

But in 2013, with the birth of Mitra (Jazz Cafe 27th October, a co-promotion with Gem Arts), he entered an exciting new musical chapter as did his collaborators Manish Pingle (pronounced ‘Pinglay’) on Indian slide guitar (mohan veena) and Gurdain Rayatt (tabla). Michael continues to sing and to play slide and lap steel guitar.

Mitra (pronounced ‘meetra’), meaning friends, is a unique fusion of Mississippi delta and hill country blues and Hindustani classical music. Neither Gurdain, regarded as one of the greatest tabla players of his generation outside India, nor Mumbai - based Manish, one of the new rising stars of Indian slide guitar, had previously heard Michael’s style of blues yet the combination of their styles was immediate and totally natural.

Meetra’s first CD, Call of the Blues, released in February 2016 hit #1 in the iTunes Blues Chart and was nominated in the “Best Band” category in the Songlines 2017 Music Awards.                                                                                                                  
This is more than another meeting of musicians from different cultures, this is a band with its own unique and highly accessible sound, creating a fascinating musical journey, running from the banks of the Mississippi, via London to Mumbai and the Ganges delta. 
Venue: The Jazz Cafe, 25 – 27 Pink Lane, Newcastle NE1 5DW.
Box Office : Tuesday to Saturday 0191 222 9882 from noon.
Andersson / Pringle / Banner / Pereira: 9pm (Doors 8.30pm) Sat 7th October.                                                           Michael Messer’s Mitra : 9pm (Doors 8.30pm) Fri 27th October.
Further details from:
Dave Clarke
Jazz Café
clarkedave55@gmail.com

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