Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18288 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 142 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 14), 42

From This Moment On ...

February

Thu 19: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: George Shearing Jazz Moments.

Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Squabble @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:00pm. Steve Chambers (organ); Jude Murphy (double bass, vocals); Sid White (drums).
Fri 20: Jive Aces @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors).
Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Sat 21: ???

Sun 22: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 22: Joe Steels Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Harben Kay Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Joe Steels Group @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 24: Liam Oliver & Shayo Oshodi @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 26: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 26: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00 adv.
Thu 26: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Blues.

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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