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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17777 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 98 of them this year alone and, so far, 23 this month (Feb.8).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Tue 11: Steve Summers Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Free. Inc. Olly Styles (tenor sax).
Thu 13: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: Artist Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Hannabiell & Midnight Blue.
Thu 13: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 14: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 12:30-1:30pm. £5.00. at the door. New second Friday in the month concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Archipelago + Anna Tempest @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Jones & Dave Kelly @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. Rhythm & blues.
Fri 14: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm.
Fri 14: Jazz Sabbath @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 15: Elkie Brooks @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘The Long Farewell Tour’.
Sat 15: Milne Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: BBC Introducing NE X MOBO Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Jambone, Knats, Rivkala, SwanNek.
Sun 16: The Shayo Experience @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 16: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 16: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ 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

Saturday, November 17, 2018

Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie - Nov. 16

(Review by Lance).
Pop and soul and rock 'n' roll a-plenty with soul being the dominating force from a band that had the floor awash with more gyrating bodies than you'd find at a Dervish convention.

Despite the powerful horn section few, if any, of the brassmen had more than a 4 bar break concentrating instead on providing the easily identifiable ensemble backing to Thornley's cover vocals.


Unusual to see a mellophonium although I remember when Stan Kenton had a whole section of them in the early '60s - hadn't seen one since!

Ian Wynd, depping for Dave McKeague, did a sterling job powering the horns and the vocals along with drive and precision.

Thornley is a good frontman his vocals in step with the originals and his guitar-playing hits just the right groove.
Among the dance floor classics were Any Love; You to me are Everything; Great God in Heaven I Love You; Play That Funky Music; All Night Long; Hold Back the Night; Land of a 1000 Dances; It's Not Unusual; Dancing in the Street; Superstition; Proud Mary; I Will Survive and Living La Vida Loca - not a Cole Porter in sight!

Memories of my misspent youth flashed by as the bodies did the Mashed Potato or was it the Watusi? I also wondered why there are invariably more women than men on the dance-floor? Possibly it's because the men don't have handbags to dance around.
So although it wasn't a jazz night, it was an enjoyable night.
Lance

Ben Thornley (vocals, guitar); Robert McBurnie, Steven Symonds (trumpets); Chris Bentham (trombone); John Philip Rudkin (mellophonium); Phil Rosier (tuba); Ian Wynd (drums). 

1 comment :

Patti said...

Another top band - another booty shaking Hoochie Coochie night! I did wonder how many of the booty shakers noticed the brass line up - and thought to themselves 'Goodness me - is that really a mellophonium?" I've always liked shaking about a bit to 'Play That Funky Music' - it was a massive number one hit for Wild Cherry, a fairly pedestrian rock band. And I like the background story to the song - not the fact that it was a bit of a rip off from 'Fire' by the Ohio Players ....... but the one about the band playing a gig in Philadelphia at the start of the disco boom - the crowd was getting restless, and apparently a black guy in the audience shouted out 'Play some funky music, white boys'. The band leader, Rob Parrisi, remembered - and wrote the hit song. I was lucky enough to hear Prince sing it at his Glasgow Hydro concert in 2014!

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