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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, 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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm.
Fri 28: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 28: Mostly Moonlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 28: Juliana Day & Manon McCoy @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00. advance. JNE.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 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 @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

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, January 22, 2018

Bradley Johnston @ The Fire Station, Sunderland - Jan 21

Bradley Johnston (guitar)
(Review by Russell).
Snow, a non-weather related disruption to the Metro network, the half-hour journey from Newcastle to Sunderland promised to be fraught with difficulties. Oh, ye of little faith! A convenient train pulled into the station…all aboard! And off to Sunderland we go! The Fire Station the destination, and the reason for making the trip? Bradley Johnston, jazz guitarist in residence.
The Fire Station, a recently renovated building adjacent to Sunderland Empire, has reopened as a place to meet, eat, drink and, on a Sunday evening, listen to Bradley Johnston play jazz guitar. The High St West site is developing into a cultural hub with dance, theatre and music on the agenda. At present, the bar and kitchen are open for business with all parts of the building scheduled to be fully operational by 2019. In advance of Johnston’s arrival, the bar manager cordoned-off a raised corner section to enable the Wearside-based guitarist to set up without disturbance or delay.
Professional, looking the part for this sort of engagement, Brad started on time – we expect nothing less from our well-schooled musician ‘taking care of business.’ Three leisurely sets, the intervals an opportunity to catch up with friends, the repertoire spot on for the occasion, BJ has ‘got a gig going’ albeit on Wearside rather than the West Coast! It was a GASbook list of composers; Duke, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Harold Arlen, Ray Noble, Rodgers and Hart, Gershwin and more. The running order,  was, more or less, as follows – Wave, My Funny Valentine, They Can’t Take That Away From Me, an extra helping of Jobim with The Girl from Ipanema, Have You Met Miss Jones? All of this and many  more, the patrons for the most part not listening (what’s new?), although, credit where it’s due, one or two did listen perhaps wondering ‘How does he do that?’ Indeed, how does Brad do it? Masterful playing, one number running into another, an ‘on the fly’ medley. Joe Pass did it, and Martin Taylor does it, so too Bradley Johnston.

A switch to six string acoustic for a couple of numbers which included Lennon and McCartney’s In My Life worked well, but it wasn’t long before Brad took up his Ibanez once more to play The Very Thought of You, A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, a return to ACJ with One Note Samba, a few bars of Georgia, I’m Beginning to See the Light and Over the Rainbow – it’s easy when you know how and Bradley Johnston definitely knows how it’s done.

The Fire Station’s cask beers are likely to attract the attention of members of CAMRA and foodies should take a look at the menu which is available until seven o’clock. Brad chatted to friends, said hello to fellow musician Alan Marshall and he appears to have struck up a good relationship with the Sunday evening staff.

Brad played through the house PA which was more than adequate, his sound projecting easily to all parts of the spacious room. Many features from the building’s days as a fire station have been retained – buckets and helmets adorning the (original) tiled walls, but sadly no fireman’s pole! The prospect of musicians arriving on stage in a most unconventional manner would have been worth turning up for! No matter, we turned up to hear jazz guitar. Another acoustic guitar interlude – the  Lennon and McCartney songbook offers up endless riches – as Brad played And I Love Her.

Joe Pass aka Bradley Johnston played You Turned the Tables on Me – oh, for Ella to walk in. Ray Noble’s Cherokee did several laps of the room, Rollin’s Doxy overtaking on the blind side, Duke’s Satin Doll, you’d pay good money to hear this stuff and here in Sunderland it’s for free. Farmer’s Trust (comp. Pat Metheny) closed a third and final set exactly on time at nine o’clock. Do support Brad’s residency, it’s about time Wearsiders had a regular jazz gig to go to. 
Russell.   

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

[They're] probably gonna spin you some line about jazz
How [they love] Dizzy and Chet
But John and Paul hanging up on [their] wall
That's about as jazz as [they get].
Paul Heaton.

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