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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

1803759 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 480 of them this year alone and, so far, 58 this month (June 18).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Mon 23: MSK Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tues 24: ???

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

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, April 09, 2018

GIJF Day 2: Zoe Gilby & Andy Champion Duo plus some random reflections - Sage Gateshead, April 7

(Review by Ann Alex/photo by Lance).
I didn’t get the chance to hear as much of the Concourse performances as I would have liked this year. However, I did manage to catch Zoe Gilby (voice) and Andy Champion, (double bass) on Saturday. Not many singers would dare to perform with just bass accompaniment, but Zoe is fearless, fine-voiced and flexible, with an interesting mix of songs. Her husband Andy plays bass to-die-for, brilliant, tuneful, exciting music. 
They began with Way Down In The Hole; then a standard Our Love Is Here To Stay. The rest of the programme was of songs not normally thought of as jazz, but they worked well with jazz interpretations. There was Pink Floyd’s Money; Kashka From Baghdad (from Kate Bush’s Lionheart album) and Nick Drake’s Riverman.
The following day, Sunday, Zoe and Andy played a support set to Sheila Jordan, the report of which will be posted separately.
Getting back to my more (to others) mundane duties, I’d recommend everyone to serve on a stand at a jazz festival. It’s a great way to meet people. Within about 10 minutes of taking my seat on Friday evening, I had greeted and/or chatted to a dozen people that I knew. But since my job on the stand was to publicise the Jazz Co-op, it was maybe more important to talk to those I didn’t know and to hand out gig lists. So I chatted to a man who instructed me in exactly how to play the violin, even providing a simple diagram. He is new to jazz so I told him about Gypsy Jazz, which he could well be checking out on the internet as I write.
I greeted a couple of folkies with diverse musical tastes, who’d actually come to see Chris Barber.
See what I mean?
The House Of The Black Gardenia on Sunday teatime was another high spot with superb swing dancing. The Concourse was crowded, including people on the stairs, quite a buzz for a brilliant band reviewed elsewhere. 
In fact, you could have a great time without moving from the Concourse, and it’s all free so you’d just need money for a drink or two (or three). This year you could have seen such as the young person’s band Jazz Attack, or John Pope and Mark Williams, and many others.
Ann Alex  

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