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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: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Darlington. 12 noon. Free (donations).
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

Monday, December 18, 2017

George MacDonald & James Birkett with the Roly Veitch Trio @ Blaydon Jazz Club - Dec 17

George MacDonald (clarinet), James Birkett (guitar), Roly Veitch (guitar), Paul Grainger (double bass) & David Francis (drums)
(Review by Russell/photos courtesy of Ken Rodham). 
As Humph would have said, Blaydon Jazz Club has been promoting ‘the very best in jazz’ for well over thirty years and the Christmas party’s legendary DIY buffet has long since assumed mythical status. This year’s festive feast more than lived up to expectations and the interval raffle assumed gigantic proportions with numerous prizes on offer. The icing on the Christmas cake was the jazz. It’s the reason fans turn up from one month to the next and the evening’s invited guests – George MacDonald and James Birkett – were making a welcome return visit.

The Black Bull on Bridge Street is a steadfast supporter of the jazz club and the room was set out in advance ready to accommodate the arrival of not only the ‘regulars’ but also a food mountain of sweet and hot seasonal goodies. If there is a more amiable group of musicians than those playing this Christmas party engagement then they are yet to visit Blaydon. Clarinetist George MacDonald is a life-long fan of Benny Goodman and can tell a story or two of the King of Swing’s days touring coast to coast in America. Master guitarist James Birkett is the ideal musical foil for Mr MacDonald, readily adapting to any given situation as the ex-pat Canadian suggests they play such and such. The house rhythm section for the evening, led by Blaydon Jazz Club’s long-serving promoter Roly Veitch, was well acquainted with the numbers in the set list and handled matters with ease; bassist Paul Grainger and drummer David Francis both knowing their way around the GASbook.

The affable MacDonald suggested Summertime and, sure enough, the quintet went for a leisurely stroll and on into autumn playing Joseph Kosma’s Autumn Leaves. Our clarinetist likes a bossa, a Jobim tune was a cert, so we heard Meditation. Gershwin was on the cards, the choice vast, what to play? On this occasion But Not for Me. Time for a blues, MacDonald suggesting ‘in F’. Blues, in a mellow tone, with Roly Veitch laying down a fine solo, followed by his friend and fellow guitarist, James Birkett crafting another exquisite solo. Mr MacDonald always listens to his fellow musicians, appreciative of their contribution, and at Dr Birkett’s suggestion, closed the first set with their ‘wild’ version (when the mood takes them they do a less wild version) of Lady Be Good. Fleet-fingered, the quintet worked up a collective appetite…the buffet beckoned.

Earlier, a party of four arrived, looked around the room with its few unoccupied seats, and enquired if they could sit behind (and within arm’s length of) the buffet table. On the understanding that they showed restraint (leaving the festive nibbles undisturbed until the interval!) the party duly took their seats. They were well placed to tuck in as an orderly queue formed and it can be reported that this year’s offering met with wide approval. No names, but more than one person went back for not only seconds, but thirds! ’Tis the season.

The second set began with some Benny Goodman but not before Veitch and Birkett played a duet. As glasses were recharged, our virtuoso guitar duo played All the Things You Are. From Goodman to Eubie Blake's Memories of You (lyrics Andy Razaf) to Edgar Sampson’s Stompin’ at the Savoy, Mr MacDonald was having a ball, after all, to him it’s all about his ‘main man’ – Benny Goodman.


Mr MacDonald can certainly evoke the mood. Either side of a stompin’ I Got Rhythm our clarinetist expertly conjured the flight of the Skylark and gazed into the middle distance somewhere Over the Rainbow. It was almost time to go but not before a swift take on One Note Samba featuring a solo from David Francis, the orchestra finally taking its bow on A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

Russell

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