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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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

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, September 03, 2018

Bruce Adams w. Al Wood Quartet @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington - September 2

Al Wood (alto/baritone); Bruce Adams (trumpet/flugel); Martin Longhawn (piano); Garry Jackson (bass); Tim Carter (drums).
(Review by Lance).
A most enjoyable early evening gig when this blog really did deliver what was on the tin. Bebop was most certainly spoken here in the form of Al Wood and Bruce Adams who played as if they'd been born and bred on 52nd St or, in the case of Wood, The Haig on Wilshire Boulevard. 
The Haig was the small club in LA where the original Gerry Mulligan Quartet first became known. I doubt if it was as big as Darlington's St. Augustine Parish Centre, the temporary home for Darlington Jazz Club, but for a couple of hours last night, the two venues were interchangeable.
The overriding theme was Gerry Mulligan and, in Al Wood, we had a baritone player more than capable of taking the lead role. On alto, Charlie Parker was the influence whilst Wood's' worthy constituent - Bruce Adams - played notes Chet Baker could only dream about. Dizzy was more his man.
To the rhythm section, Dizzy, Chet etc. were probably just names from the history books like Beethoven, Bach or Liberace. However, Longhawn, Jackson and Carter knew their history and they provided the two veterans out front with a launchpad. 
Apart from the well-known Bernie's Tune and Lullaby of the Leaves, Wood chose to cast his net further afield than tunes from the original quartet album so we had: Reunion; Swinghouse (written for the Kenton Band); Blueport; As Catch Can; Ode to a Flugel Horn and Motel
Away from Mulligan we also heard; Opus de Funk; Funk in  Deep Freeze; Groovin' High; Dat Dere and Friends Again; all played on alto, an instrument on which Wood is equally fluent.
Needless to say, Adams was his usual flamboyant self. No note too high - are there any better British trumpet players?  If there are I could count them on one hand after doing a blindfold test in a sawmill.
Apart from the leaders, the trio, despite being given limited solo space, seized the moment with Longhawn particularly outstanding.
100% perfect? Well, let's say 95%. I'd like to have heard Adams blowing flugel on a ballad, which I know he does so well and, likewise, Wood putting in some balladic baritone blowing. 
Apart from that minor observation, it was an excellent evening.
Lance.

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