Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. 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

Monday, November 26, 2018

CD Review: Pleasure Mad - Live recordings from Mike Durham's International Classic Jazz Party 2017

(Review by Lance)
Bebop most certainly wasn't spoken at the Classic Jazz Party 2017 (nor this year or any of the previous years either!) However, that doesn't mean that the music, despite its antiquity, isn't worth checking out. Good jazz, like good classical music, is timeless and the CJP is living proof of that.

Each year the party has (plus or minus) the same core of musicians from America, Europe, and the UK corralled into various themes by Keith Nichols and his team.

In 2017 those themes encompassed early King Oliver; Willie the Lion Smith; 1927 Ellington; Fletcher Henderson; Luis Russell; Jabbo Smith; Benny Moten; ODJB and other names that flourished between the two world wars. The most amazing thing is how authentic these live sessions sound. Using many original arrangements, including some note for note solos, the feeling is that Dizzy and Bird never happened!

Having said that, reading one of Russell's BSH reviews of the actual event I note that saxist Jean-Francois Bonnel played a set that included pieces by Ornette Coleman, Kenny Barron and Monk which aren't included on this double CD. 
Jean-Francois wasn't present the following year!

An essential purchase for anyone who attended in 2017 - or indeed in any other year since it was created in 1990 by the late Mike Durham (whose name lives on).
And, if you've never experienced a CJP, a hint at what you're missing!
Lance.

Collective personnel: 
Trumpets: Mike Davis; Andy Schumm; Duke Heitger; Jamie Brownfield; Malo Mazurié.
Trombones: Kristoffer Kompen; Graham Hughes; Jim Fryer.
Reeds: Michael McQuaid; Richard Exall; Matthias Seuffert; Claus Jacobi; Ewan Bleach; Lars Frank; Jean-Francois Bonnel.
Pianists: David Boeddinghaus; Martin Litton; Keith Nichols; Morten Gunnar Larsen.
Banjo/Guitar: Martin Wheatley; Peter Beyerer; Spats Langham; Jacob Ulberger.
Bass/Tuba: Malcolm Sked; Henry Lemaire; Phil Rutherford; Richard Pite; Elise Sut.
Drums: Josh Duffee; Nick Ball; Richard Pite.
Violin: Emma Fisk.
Vocals: Nicolle Rochelle; Joan Viskant; Spats Langham.

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