Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

From This Moment On

June

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Tees Valley Jazzmen @ No.1 Market Place, Bishop Auckland - Dec 28

Gavin Lee (soprano sax), Don Fairley (trombone), Keith Belton (piano & vocals), Gavin Belton (banjo), Tom Derbyshire (double bass) & Mike Humble (drums) + Alf Langthorne (piano), Brian Wilkins (banjo), Kate Bulman (vocals) & Jimmy Robinson (vocals)
(Review by Russell).
Lunchtime, last Thursday of the month, the Tees Valley Jazzmen set up in the window of No.1 Market Place in Bishop Auckland to play some Dixieland tunes. Part coffee shop, part bar, its close proximity to Auckland Castle (presently closed for major redevelopment works), the Town Hall (closed until January!) and the Stanley Jefferson (a Wetherspoon's public house named in honour of Stan Laurel - the great man went to school nearby), attracts plenty of passers-by, a few stop in their tracks...yes, that is a jazz band playing to a full house!
In a couple of years the Tess Valley Jazzmen will clock up their 50th year playing gigs across the northeast, and, indeed, in their time they have performed nationally and internationally. Founding member Keith Belton is still at the helm, brother Gavin is a fixture, and the present front line - Gavin Lee and Don Fairley - is as good as any working the Dixieland circuit. 

Everbody Loves My Baby with Lee on soprano sax, the session was underway. Kate Bulman sang Route 66 and would return periodically during the afternoon. Keith Belton vacated the piano stool in favour of Alf Langthorne, in so doing taking the opportunity to sing Carry Me Back to Old Virginny. 

Raffle tickets were sold during the first set with gig-goers accepting the offer of a complimentary chocolate or toffee from a large tin, the sort piled high in supermarkets in the run-up to Christmas. With pint in hand MC Gavin Lee said the band would take a short break, returning presently.

Nobody's Sweetheart opened the second set followed by a US Civil War tune which heard the band Marching Through Georgia. Vocalist Bulman sang Careless Love, Lee featured on Louis' Hot Five classic Struttin' with some Barbecue, and, said our soprano sax ace, the Tees Valley would play something a bit modern - ie early 30s!. And so they played Darkness on the Delta (a hit for Mildred Bailey). Keith Belton sang Ice Cream (with audience participation) and friend of the TVJ, Mr Jimmy Robinson joined the band to Rock Around the Clock. An enjoyable afternoon drew to a close with Belton singing Goin' Home. 
Russell.  
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