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Bebop Spoken There

George Colligan: ''I think to be a successful musician, you must be versatile to make a living — until you find your niche''. (DownBeat, July 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

17,635 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 599 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (July 25).

From This Moment On ...

JULY 2025

Thu 31: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 8:30pm. £5.00.

AUGUST 2025

Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Tongues of Fire @ Stockton International Riverside Festival: High St, North Bus Loop. 6:30-8:45pm. Free.
Fri 01: Matt Anderson & Friends @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £14.79.
Fri 01: Tongues of Fire @ Stockton International Riverside Festival: Town Hall & Fountain Area. 8:45-9:30pm. Free.

Sat 02: Met Office @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). £10.00.
Sat 02: Tongues of Fire @ Stockton International Riverside Festival: High St, North Bus Loop. 1:15-1:45pm & 4:15-5:00pm. Free.
Sat 02: Brass, Eye? @ Stockton International Riverside Festival: High St, North Bus Loop. 5:45-6:30pm. Free.
Sat 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm.
Sat 02: Brass, Eye? + Tongues of Fire @ Stockton International Riverside Festival: Town Hall & Fountain Area. 8:45-9:30pm. Free.

Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 03: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: King Bees @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. From 1:00pm. £5.00. A Gosforth Beer Festival event. Multi-bill (1:00-5:00pm). Chicago blues band.
Sun 03: The Revolutionaires @ Seaham Food Festival (North Road Amphitheatre). 1:15pm. Free. Rhythm & blues feat. Fast Eddie.
Sun 03: Hannabiell & Midnight Blue @ Seaham Food Festival (North Road Amphitheatre). 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 03: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: Tongues of Fire @ Stockton International Riverside Festival: High St (Walkabout). 7:30-8:15pm. Free.
Sun 03: Redwell @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 03: Tongues of Fire @ Stockton International Riverside Festival: Trinity Green. 9:00-9:30pm. Free.

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 04: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel, Saltburn. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Public rehearsal session.

Tue 05: Olly Styles: Undergraduate Recital @ Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 2:00-2:40pm. Free, open to the public.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 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

Friday, July 06, 2018

Mavis Staples to play Newcastle’s Boiler Shop!

(Preview by Russell)
Legendary gospel and rhythm and blues singer Mavis Staples will be in concert one week from today in a Sage Gateshead promotion at Boiler Shop on South Street, Newcastle. Born into a musical family led by ‘Pops’ Staples, the early years found Chicagoan Mavis Staples singing gospel material and later the popularity of rhythm and blues won the family recording deals with prestigious labels such as Columbia and Atlantic.

In the late sixties Staples released a solo album on the hugely successful Stax label and since then has gone on to record numerous albums, some of them with the assistance of industry luminaries including   Curtis Mayfield and Prince. Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, sampled by hip-hop artists, if Staples decided to take it easy few would take issue. Yet, as many musicians do, Mavis Staples continues with a recording and touring schedule taking her across the world. On Friday July 13 Staples will perform at the Grade II* listed Boiler Shop, the Stephenson Works’ site of George Stephenson’s pioneering 1800s railway engineering projects. The stunning South Street venue presents a wonderful opportunity to hear one of America’s greatest living artists performing up-to-the-minute material from 2017’s CD If All I Was Was Black. 

Joining Mavis Staples at this Sage Gateshead promotion will be Benjamin Booker, a young man whose successful 2017 album Witness features Staples on the title track, and could it be that they will share a stage at some point during the evening? There is one way to find out, contact Sage Gateshead today to book your tickets – 0191 443 4666.     
Russell.                  

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