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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Hannabiell & Midnight Blue @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 27: Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Superb blues duo.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm.
Fri 28: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 28: Mostly Moonlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 28: Juliana Day & Manon McCoy @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00. advance. JNE.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 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

Thursday, August 09, 2018

Jam Session @ The Dun Cow, Jesmond - August 8

Francis Tulip (guitar); Deon Krishnan (bass guitars/vocal); Matt MacKellar (drums) + James Metcalf (flugel); Miriam McCormick (vocal); Alex Thompson (alto).
(Review by Lance).
Remember last weekend? The start of the football season and Sunderland were level with Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough were 2 down against Millwall. We're in the dying minutes and what happens? The Cats grab a last-minute winner and The Smoggies pull back two for an unlikely draw!
So what's all this got to do with jazz?
Well, after last night's fantastic jam at the Caff there was no jam in the world going to follow that even though some of the same musicians were involved.
It had all been swinging along smoothly, maybe a little bland at times, and it looked like a goalless draw was on the cards and then, once again in the dying minutes, up jumps Deon and gives us a vocal version of Chick Corea's Spain whilst playing unison lines on the 5 string of his two bass guitars (the other was a 6 stringer). 3 points in the bag.
We thought it was all over - it was now!
The football analogy is not so far removed as Deon told me he once played a function gig at the Stadium of Light and Steve Bruce, Sunderland's hundred and third manager of that particular week, mistook Deon for centre-back Paolo da Silva - and, in truth, they do look quite similar.
Prior to this, the guys had played tastefully, supported Metcalf on You Stepped Out of a Dream and Stella by Starlight; backed Miriam on Don't Explain and No Moon at All and provided the backdrop for Alex on Nica's Dream.
A good crowd but, whereas at the Jazz Café they can be too noisy, here they are too quiet. Sacrilege I know but I always think that, in an intimate setting, too much rapt attention causes the experienced player to play safe and the novice to falter nervously whereas if it's a boisterous crowd the player will go for broke knowing that a fluffed note won't be headlines in BSH the next day!
----- 
Talking of BSH, I attended the funeral of Clive Gray along with some fellow jazzers linked to Clive's banjo-playing past. I was surprised and very proud, even humbled, that my short obituary posted after Dave Kerr had told me of his death was read out by the Humanist lady who was conducting the ceremony.
Rest In Peace.
Lance.

4 comments :

Jude Murphy (on F/b). said...

Wish these were any night but a Wednesday. We missed Deon doing Spain!!!

Steve T said...

As a non musician who doesn't really like jam sessions, or for that matter, singers in Jazz (sans Sinatra(sic)(if you think of him as Jazz) and the local ladies (nice recovery?), I really enjoyed it.
More like a gig with guests, it was great to hear Francis and Mathew in more relaxed mode, playing straight stuff straight.
Roberta Flacks Feel Like Makin Love, as interpreted by Benson, was a nice addition.

Lance said...

Sinatra? Jazz? well er yes er maybe er sometimes er... Early days, no. Latter days, no. In between? most definitely yes. Like Billie Holiday, Sinatra didn't have to scat to stamp his individuality on a tune. They both did it by timbre, timing and phrasing. Try singing along with either of them on a tune you think you know well. After 4 bars you discover that you didn't really know the tune at all - a fraction of a beat behind or ahead - they give the song a new dimension that even the composer/lyricist hadn't foreseen. You can sing along with Ella, her jazz chops were in the scatting whereas with Frank and Billie it was the way they transformed the wordsmith's rhymes into some of the greatest romantic poetry ever written.

Steve T said...

My own view is that Sinatra was a pop star, but at a time when pop music was based on Jazz, before it was based on rock and roll, which made him the greatest pop star of the century, and it's hard to think of any peers. He towered over the century the way the rock and roll based Beatles towered over sixties pop. The Capital albums, in particular, are amongst the great achievements in music. Sadly, he suffers the same fate as jazz, whereby most people don't feel the need to listen to more than Kind of Blue, most don't get past Songs for Swinging Lovers.

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