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

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra presents Spirit of Light composed by Tommy Smith and featuring Kurt Elling and Cappella Nova

(Press release)
Spirit of Light is a celebration in music and song that combines the sacred and the secular in an illuminating new work composed by Tommy Smith.
The celebrated jazz vocalist Kurt Elling and the ten voices of Cappella Nova will join the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra to perform this new music inspired by the seasonal iconography of the Star, Three Kings, Christmas Night, Winter Snow and the dawning of Christmas Day, and featuring settings of poetry by eminently humanitarian writers such as Liz Lochhead, Rainer Maria Rilke, Norman MacCaig, Robert Frost, Franz Wright, Jim Heynen, and St. Francis of Assisi.

Kurt Elling is a profoundly versatile American singer and a Grammy Award winner who is recognised worldwide as a leading figure in jazz. He is noted for his ability to transcend genre through his dedication to the power of song and the strength of great melody.
Cappella Nova is Scotland’s finest vocal consort, noted for its unrivalled reputation as champions of Scotland’s unique treasury of early vocal music and their dedication to original music by contemporary composers like James MacMillan and John Tavener.
Tommy Smith is a leading light in European jazz, first and foremost as one of the best saxophonists of his generation, and latterly as the founder and director of the SNJO.  He will join the orchestra for Spirit of Light as principal instrumental soloist.
The songs of Spirit of Light summon the traditional, the hymnal, the poetic and the modern for a series of memorable performances in the acoustic splendour of Scotland’s finest Cathedrals.
As we approach the turn of the year, a time for reflection and observation, Spirit of Light is the sound of hope restored and optimism renewed with strong messages of lasting peace, quiet joy and genuine understanding. We warmly welcome audiences, young and old, to share in this extraordinary choral and orchestral jazz experience.
The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra is supported by Creative Scotland

*Friday 15th December:  Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow
Saturday 16th December:  St. Machar’s Cathedral, Aberdeen
Sunday 17th December: St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh
World Première Performance

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