Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. 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

Wednesday, January 03, 2018

CD Review: Phil DeGreg Trio - Queen City Blues

Phil DeGreg (piano); Aaron Jacobs (bass); John Taylor (drums).
(Review by Lance).
OMG! Here's another one that got swept under the carpet - what a magic carpet this piece of Kidderminster is turning out to be!
Is there a better listening recipe than a swinging trio of guys who know the score playing a mix of standards and originals?
I think not. Hines, Wilson, Tatum, Garner, Peterson, Evans, Jarrett laid down the rules and musicians across the world have listened and built upon it. Even here in Newcastle, guys like Paul Edis, Dean Stockdale, James Harrison, Alan Law, the now exported Pete Gilligan and several others have made their mark so it is no surprise to find this Cincinnati trio keeping the flame burning.

Relaxing with a glass of Chardonnay and listening to I've Got a Crush on You makes me want to jump onto the next flight to Ohio and to hear this live (not to mention the memories this tune has for me from so long ago...).
NYC may be the jazz capital of the world but, on the strength of this album, I think Cincinnati is in there pitching.
Many years ago, the late Pete Tabasco, who ran the Art Pepper Appreciation Society, sent me a couple of tapes of the Blue Wisp Big Band. A knockout band and it comes as no surprise to find that the DeGreg Trio was, for 13 years, the house band at the very same Blue Wisp Club.
Lance
Westside Gateway; Embraceable you; Fountain on a Square; I've Got a Crush on You; Falling Grace; Queen City Blues; Al the Things You Are; Five For All; My Foolish Heart; Favela; My Romance; Cherokee.

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