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Bebop Spoken There

Francis Tulip: ''Music speaks louder than words''. (Jazzwise, 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

17,596 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 560 of them this year alone and, so far, 38 this month (July 13).

From This Moment On ...

JULY 2025

Tue 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Sluice. Tel: 0191 237 3697. 12:30pm. ‘July Jazz Barbecue’. Tickets: £15.00.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ Hackworth Park, Shildon, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ The Witham, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Julian Lage Trio @ 1856 Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm . Lage (guitar); Jorge Roeder (double bass); Joey Barron (drums).
Tue 15: Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra @ The Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Brass Bash @ Willington Town Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Wed 16: Brass Bash @ Market Place, Spennymoor, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Brass Bash @ Trimdon Community College, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Thu 17: Brass Bash @ Blackhill & Consett Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Thu 17: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £11:55 (inc bf).

Fri 18: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Brass Bash @ Town Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Fri 18: Brass Bash @ North Terrace, Seaham, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Fri 18: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Knats: Masterclass & jam session @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 18: Rat Pack - Live in Concert @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00.
Fri 18: Front Porch Three @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. A Hoodoo Blues dance class & social. Social & Front Porch Three only from 8:30pm. £5.00.

Sat 19: Streets of Brass @ Durham City. From 10:00am. Free. Various street bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Mr Wilson’s Second Liners: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 12 noon. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. SOLD OUT! A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Bollywood Brass Band @ Monument Metro Station & Haymarket Metro Station, Newcastle. 2:00pm & 3:00pm & 4:00pm (3 x 30 mins). Free. A Gem Arts Masala Festival event.
Sat 19: Diddy Sweg: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 2:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Brazen Brass Band: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 12 noon. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Party in the Park @ Wharton Park, Durham. 5:00-9:00pm. Free. Ten street brass bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 19: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 19: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Chopwell Community Centre. 8:00pm.

Sun 20: Streets of Brass @ Durham City. From 11:00am. Free. Various street bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: Always Drinking Marching Band: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 11:00am. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: New York Brass Band: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 1:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: Das Brass: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 3:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: Pope/Garner/Byrne/Alderson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 21: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 21: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 21: New Century Syncopated Seven @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

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, August 06, 2018

Francis Tulip Quartet @ The Globe & Stu Collingwood Trio @ Charts - August 5

Francis Tulip (guitar); Joel Brown (piano); Michael Dunlop (bass guitar); Matt MacKellar (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Much has been posted on BSH about the above musicians, charting their progress as some of them set out on their way with Jambone at Sage Gateshead, others consolidating their technique at local jam sessions before finally emerging in full bloom as a band to be reckoned with at any level.
The crowded bar at the Jazz Coop HQ took me back maybe 50 years to a time when Newcastle really was a 'jazz town'.
The Beatles may have ousted jazz from The Cavern in Liverpool but, in Newcastle, Jazz North East was about to begin the rollercoaster ride that continues to this day producing jazz across the spectrum from home and abroad. The New Orleans Club was open 6/7 nights a week whilst across town, the Down Beat club gave birth to the Emcee 5 - a modern jazz quintet that, in its short life, achieved legendary status before the musicians moved south to become cult figures in their own right. 
The two clubs also spawned The Animals, the bluesiest of the '60s rock groups and one of the few bands to challenge the then Merseyside dominance. To get an idea of the scene at the time, Abi Lewis' portrayal of the late Keith Crombie and the Jazz Café in her filmed documentary Geordie Jazzman is essential viewing (August 18, Tyneside Cinema).
Over the years, the Emcee 5 has become the yardstick by which northeast bands are judged. With the exception of a few such as the occasionally assembled ACV and the Paul Edis Sextet, most have been found wanting.
All that changed last night at the Globe.
There was a buzz about the place that took me back to those halcyon days. The hot weather outside, the warm beer inside, the cool music on stage. All that was missing was the sometimes pungent aroma of cigarette smoke.
Make no mistake, everything that has been written about the FTQ in these pages is no exaggeration and even though it is a band still in its infancy, that infancy is way way higher than many well-known bands' maturity.
However, like the Emcee 5, this could be an ephemeral moment. Already personnel changes are afoot and, as one of the warmest summers on record draws to a close, so the band members will disperse to their various pursuits both home and abroad and gigs like last night will become a rarity so be sure to catch them when you can or live a life of regret*.
----- 
Prior to the above session, I had a pleasant stroll along Newcastle Quayside enjoying the 'scenery' before calling into Charts for a cooling draught of ale.
The Stu Collingwood Trio were laying down some fine jazz. Advertised as a Jazz Social which is another word for a Jam Session or, as Dave Weisser prefers, a Jazz Workshop, the potential was there for a super Sunday which is a current void in the Tyneside jazz calendar. Over the years, going back to the 1960s, maybe even earlier, Sunday lunchtime sessions pulled the crowds. 
The Bluebell in Felling, The Baracuda Band at one of the bars on Westgate Rd., The Newcastle Big Band, Last Exit, The East Side Torpedoes, the Steve Brown Band - all at the University Theatre (now Newcastle Playhouse), the Ronnie Young Band at the City Vaults in the Bigg Market were just some of the Sunday lunchtime sessions that served as an aperitif to your roast beef and two Yorkshires.
Charts is situated in a prime location. The Quayside market, particularly during the summer months, draws the crowds and with  Stu Collingwood on keys, Russ Morgan on drums and Andy, the still undefeated, Champion, on bass, who could ask for anything more?
 So surely the time is right for a revival.
All it needs is for a horn player or six to drop by and it will escalate.
Plus, no need to miss your Sunday dinner as it's a late afternoon start (4pm-7pm are the advertised times but this is jazz so they may not be exact.)
Well worth a visit or two/three/four etc.
Lance.
(Charts photo by Russell)  
*Stop press: The word is out that the Francis Tulip Quartet has booked some studio time so it looks as though there could be a CD in the offing. 

1 comment :

Russell said...

Steve Brown played piano at the University Theatre...all these years later son Joel is a chip off the old block playing piano with Francis Tulip!

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