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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

17,533 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 497 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (June 23).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Bal Bruch Social Dance @ As You Like It, Sandyford, Newcastle. 12:30pm. Free. Dance event with Hot Club de Heaton performing live (2:00-3:00pm). A ‘Jar on the Bar’ event.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

JULY 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. 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

Friday, October 27, 2017

BABMUS: 6TEEN54 @ Jazz Café - October 26

Tom Dixon (alto saxophone), Jamie Jingles (guitar), Inês Gonçalves (piano & vocals), José Gonçalves (bass) & Ben Fitzgerald (drums)
(Review by Russell)
6TEEN54, a one-off quintet comprising BABMUS students, an alumnus, and a visiting bass player from Portugal played to an enthusiastic crowd at the Jazz Café in Newcastle. Bearpark (that’s Tom Bearpark and friends) have established a regular Sage Gateshead music students’ gig in the Caff’s upstairs room and it was heartening to see students and friends supporting this one-time-only gig.
Bearpark front man Tom Dixon did the talking; the set list would range from Jobim to GAS Book to Coltrane together with a brace of original compositions. The performance opened (and would later close) with a duet between father and daughter. BABMUS piano and vocal student Inês Gonçalves sang Jobim’s Dindi accompanied by father José playing six-string electric bass. Señor Gonçalves, welcome to Newcastle! For the most part, our visitor from Portugal took a back seat, happy to hear Inês and her fellow students take centre stage. How High the Moon sang Inês with Tom Dixon on alto taking a first solo of the evening. TD has been busy composing tunes and two of them were to be given a world premiere! The true tale of having alcohol confiscated at the door of a local music venue (a well-known lager brand secreted upon the person) yielded the title of Tom Dixon’s Secret Stella. In part, a Latin groove, guitarist Jamie Jingles (aka…it’s a secret!) impressed, and drummer Ben Fitzgerald, playing his first ever jazz gig, took it home. A new experience for Ben, and credit to the young man, he played the entire set with brushes. Dolphin Dance, and Inês singing (in English and first language Portuguese!) The Girl from Ipanema, rounded off an intriguing first set.

The second set opened with a tune the title of which Tom Dixon wasn’t sure about. Suffice to say it was in Portuguese. The soloists – Jamie and José – spoke a familiar musical language. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was Coltrane’s Equinox. Inês and José the foundation, Tom took off Trane-like, and Jamie, playing without a pick, developed a superior solo, Tom then taking it out. Excellent!
Tom Dixon’s Me-Mow (a female cat, of the cartoon variety, wouldn’t you know?) featured Jamie as he took his time, producing another rounded solo, with Tom taking it (the tune, not the cat) by the scruff of the neck as he played some more great alto. 
 
This BABMUS special – thank you Inês, thank you Señor Gonçalves – ended as it began…father and daughter together (see photo) with Inês singing You Don’t Know What Love Is.          
Russell

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