Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 2026)

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

19,086 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 950 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Nov. 7) 20.

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

From This Moment On

November

Fri 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Giles Strong (guitar); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 13: Lapwing Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Richard Herdman, Nick Bagnell, Paula Whitty.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! Returns next week (Fri 20th).
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Hexham Lantern Parade, Bandstand, Sele, Hexham. 6:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Sharp Collective @ Dry Water Arts, Amble. 7:00pm.
Fri 13: East Coast Swing Band @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm.
Fri 13: Guisborough Big Band @ Saltburn Golf Club. 7:30pm. Tickets: £15.00 (inc. pie & peas

Sat 14: Lianne Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am-5:00pm. £95.00. Day 1/2. SOLD OUT!
Sat 14: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 14: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf); £11.00 concs (inc. bf).
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Gateshead. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Tweed Gallery, Berwick. 7:30pm. Free.

Sun 15: Lianne Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am-5:00pm. Day 2/2. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe. 7:00pm. £48.18 (to include dinner); £17.43 (concert only).
Sun 15: Sarah Gillespie & Chris Montague @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £18.00.
Sun 15: Liane Carroll @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Solo performance. SOLD OUT!

Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Jacob Egglestone, Paul Grainger, Joe Deans.
Tue 17: Grammy Season (Laubrock/Seabrook/Lovato/Rainey) @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. JNE.

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 19: Papa G’s Troves @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 19: Marina Josephina @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £10.60; £10.60.; £8.50 Early Bird.

Sunday, August 26, 2018

Fever: Jo Harrop sings Peggy Lee @ Ushaw, Durham - August 25.

Jo Harrop (vocals); Tony Kofi (alto); Alex Webb (piano); Andy Champion (bass); Russ Morgan (drums).
(Review by Lance)
After Nicola Farnon's storming set on Friday night the question on everyone's lips last night was, would Jo Harrop be able to follow that?
With a little help from Tony Kofi, Alex Webb, Andy Champion, Russ Morgan and, of course, Peggy Lee, Jo Harrop certainly did 'follow that'!
The packed Exhibition Hall responded enthusiastically to local girl made good Jo's interpretation of some numbers associated with Peggy Lee plus a couple of compositions by pianist/composer Webb.
However, unlike most of the 'Rat Pack' tributes going around, this was no mere pastiche but a successful reworking of the Lee originals tailormade to suit Jo Harrop's own individual style.
From the opening Why Don't You Do Right? it was a voyage of delight helped along by some blistering alto solos from 'special guest' Kofi.
It's a Good Day; Confessin'; He's a Tramp; a pitch-perfect All Too Soon; voice and drums trading 4's on Just One of Those Things; a bass and voice duo on Bye Bye Blackbird; the first of Webb's originals - It's Not the End - and, to finish the first set, a sizzling Blues in the Night with Kofi blowing the blues as if he'd spent all day 'riding the rods' from Natchez to Mobile.
Interval time - I'm driving so I stay away from the bar and chat with Alex Webb, One of the black notes on the grand isn't working but it doesn't seem to faze him. "I've played on worse pianos," he says wrily.
The drinkers return and Baby It's Your Move, another Webb original that I'm sure Peg would have sung if she'd still been with us starts us off once more. The inevitable Black Coffee with some great exchanges between singer and sax. Get Out of Town - Cole Porter has certainly been well represented at this festival; I'm a Fool to Want You; Love me or Leave me; Two For the Road; I Love Being Here With You (with references to South Shields and 'The Toon' to prove it); Lover; voice and bass magic on Fever and then, and then, and then...
The Folks Who Live on the Hill. Whenever I play the Peggy Lee version a shiver runs down my spine when I hear that first Someday.... That same shiver was there when Jo gently mouthed that first word.
I drove home on a high.
Lance
More Ushaw photos.
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