Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''I believe we are living in a historically embarrassing moment in American history.'' - Downbeat December 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

18061 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 1025 of them this year alone and, so far, 39 this month (Dec. 14).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Mon 15: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 16: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Tue 16: A Jazzy Xmas @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Kyran Matthews (tenor sax, soprano sax); Faye Thompson (alto sax, clarinet); Sue Ferris (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone);Emma Fisk (violin); Andy Champion (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums).
Tue 16: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 17: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon. £29.00 (inc. bf). ‘Festive Lunch’. VCJ on stage 12 noon (three sets 'til 4:00pm).
Wed 17: Lazy River Band @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Veronica Perrin, Chris Perrin, John Farragher, Phil Rutherford
Wed 17: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 17: Paul Skerritt @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Wed 17: A Jazzy Xmas @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Kyran Matthews (tenor sax, soprano sax); Faye Thompson (alto sax, clarinet); Sue Ferris (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone);Emma Fisk (violin); Andy Champion (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums).
Wed 17: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 18: Paul Skerritt @ YOLO, Ponteland. 7:00pm. ‘Swing & Jazz Night’. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 18: Joe Steels & Friends @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:30pm. Free (donations).

Fri 19: Fraser Urquhart @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT! .
Fri 19: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free..
Fri 19: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free..
Fri 19: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00..
Fri 19: Castillo Nuevo @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:00pm. Free. .
Fri 19: Alexia Gardner @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy..
Fri 19: Paul Skerritt @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes. .
Fri 19: Giles Strong Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club..
Fri 19: Creakin’ Bones & the Xmas Dinners @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £13.01 (inc. bf)..
Fri 19: Mark Toomey Quintet @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 20: Jazz Attack @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 11:00am. Free.
Sat 20: Alexia Gardner @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy. SOLD OUT!
Sat 20: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Sat 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: Hoodoo Blues @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:15pm (doors). £14.25, £11.55. Dance class, social dancing, live music & Xmas Party. Live music from 9:00pm - Ruth Lambert, Giles Strong, Ian Paterson & John Bradford (jazz and blues).
Sat 20: John Pope Quintet @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 7:30-8:30pm. £7.70 (inc. bf). Album recording session.

Sun 21: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackosn’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. ‘Xmas Swingalong’. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ o2 City Hall, Newcastle. 6:00pm. £35.80., £33.25., £31.00.
Sun 21: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Live music.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:30pm. 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

Saturday, March 10, 2018

Young Musical Prodigy Announces UK Tour.

Young musical prodigy Alex Hitchcock and his quintet embark on a UK tour from 10th April to 18th May in support of their forthcoming EP (please see press release below).
Alex Hitchcock is a saxophonist making huge waves in the jazz scene and is recognised to be one of the best up and coming players in the UK today.  
Press Release.
Spring 2018 marks the release of Live At The London And Cambridge Jazz Festivals, the outstanding new body of work from emerging luminaries of instrumental jazz the Alex Hitchcock Quintet. Led by an exciting young tenor saxophonist swiftly gaining a reputation as a skilful and unique player, Hitchcock and his band are five of London’s most sought-after players, now establishing themselves as leading figures in their own right through gripping collaborative music.
As experienced players in the bands of jazz stars as diverse as Jasper Hoiby, Chris Potter and Elliot Galvin, Hitchcock and his quintet have been secret weapon sidemen to those in the know for some time - the privilege of being the ‘go to’ musicians for more familiar talent allowing each member of the quintet to hone their skills on the live circuit, simultaneously developing an acute intuition for contemporary improvisation and original, absorbing composition.

Joined by James Copus on trumpet and flugelhorn, Will Barry (winner of The Musician’s Company’s 2017 jazz musician of the year award) on piano, Joe Downard on bass and Jay Davis on drums, Hitchcock and his quintet have drawn inspiration from artists as distinctive as Kneebody, to Ambrose Akinmusire to Django Bates. Fusing such a mixture of influences together and incorporating an inimitable interpretation of each, the Alex Hitchcock Quintet have created a forward-thinking and highly accomplished selection of music. The result of their collective endeavours is Live At The London And Cambridge Jazz Festivals, a fresh and vibrant take on modern jazz, delivered with confidence and flair.

Having made a strong impact at both Love Supreme Festival and The London Jazz Festival, as well as successful performances The Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Rooms, Jazz In The Round and Pizza Express Jazz Club, not to mention an adventurous foray into Europe with media supported tours of Hungary and Poland, Alex Hitchcock’s Quintet are taking their live show to a selection of some of their favourite venues around the UK. These concerts will be a chance to witness the full impact of the new EP in a range of intimate environments, at a time when the quintet are still very much on the rise.

2018 is set to be a big year for the Alex Hitchcock Quintet, a band just as comfortable on an intimate club stage as at some of jazz’s biggest events. With a full album in the pipeline and likely appearances at a range of summer festivals, the new EP and tour is an opportunity for enthusiasts, experts and discerning music fans to get ahead of the game and get to know one of the best new bands on the circuit today.

2018 LIVE DATES:

10th April     Jazz @ The Spotted Dog  BIRMINGHAM 
11th April     Stratford Jazz STRATFORD UPON AVON
 12th April     Jazz @ Future Inns BRISTOL
 22nd April     Ashburton Live ASHBURTON
 23rd April     The Beaver Inn APPLEDORE
 24th April     St Ives Jazz Club ST IVES
 4th  May       The Basement Jazz Club YORK
 6th  May       Colchester Arts Centre COLCHESTER
 11th May      The Verdict  BRIGHTON
 12th May      The Hive  SHREWSBURY
 14th May      Pizza Express Jazz Club  LONDON
 16th May      The Jazz Bar EDINBURGH
 17th May     The Jazz Café   NEWCASTLE
 18th May      Sheffield Jazz SHEFFIELD

QUOTES:

·      'If I suggest that it reminded me of Miles Davis’s classic quintet with Wayne Shorter, that will give you some idea of the impact it had on me. It’s tightly disciplined, in the best sense of the word, with the front-line of Hitchcock and Copus playing as one, but with a sense of space that allows soloists to explore the themes in any direction they choose’ thejazzman.com

·      ‘A fantastic young talent... undoubtedly one of the stars of the future’
 – Helen Mayhew, Jazz FM

·      ‘Incredible young lion of the tenor sax’ – Gareth Lockrane

·      ‘Sax virtuoso... one to watch’ – Jazzwise

·      '...effectively mixed a traditional tenor-ballad warmth with a brisk contemporary attack' – John Fordham, The Guardian

·      'Hitchcock blows contemporary post-Coltrane tenor soaring up into the outer limits’ – Bebop Spoken Here.

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