Bebop Spoken There

Ethan Hawke (starring as Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon): ''Larry [Lorenz] Hart would be so happy that his music and his words and his poetry are still alive.'' - The Northern Echo 27 November 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

18000 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 964 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 24).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Fri 05: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 05: Jazzy Xmas @ Redhills, Durham. 7:30-10:00pm. £10.00., £9.00., £8.00. Miners’ Hall, Flass St., Durham. Feat. Durham University Big Band & Durham University Jazz Orchestra.
Fri 05: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 05: Alligator Gumbo @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £16.96. Saltburn Jazz Xmas Party.

Sat 06: Sarah Spencer’s Transatlantic Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 06: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Minor Swing. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 06: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 06: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76 (inc. bf).
Sat 06: Kaberry Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £15.00. (inc. hot buffet). ‘Christmas 1945’. Kaberry Big Band, formerly Vermont Big Band.
Sat 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ Platform 1, Bedlington. 7:30pm. £6.00. Rhythm & blues.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. Xmas Party with buffet.
Sat 06: The Jive Aces @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £22.00., £20.00.
Sat 06: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. special guest Donna Hewitt (sax, clarinet).
Sun 07: Finn-Keeble Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio + Ruth Lambert.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Jason Isaacs Big Band @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 5:15pm (4:00pm doors). £21.50 (inc. bf).
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ 3 Stories, High St. West, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Support set from Play More Jazz! course participants. Note earlier start.

Mon 08: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm

Wed 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 10: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Mike Lindup Jazz Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £26.50 (inc. bf). Lindup, Yolanda Charles (bass), John Sam (drums).
Wed 10: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00.

Thu 11: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: West Coast (cool ) / Wordsearch (cool) Cool Jazz or ‘Cold’, ‘Cool’, ‘Hot’, ‘Warm’ in the title or lyrics.
Thu 11: George Robinson @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £5.42 (inc. bf). Vienna’s Voice charity evening featuring ’15 year old singing sensation the ‘Redcar Crooner’ George Robinson’. Over 35s only.
Thu 11: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. back tapes.
Thu 11: Ransom Van @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 11: Down for the Count Swing Orchestra @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:30pm. £37.70 (inc. bf). ‘Swing into Xmas’.

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

Friday, November 30, 2018

New Spring Season of Jazz Announced @ Sage Gateshead

(Press release)
A Spring season of top acts and emerging artists from the jazz, soul and funk world has been announced by Sage Gateshead today.

The Comet is Coming, Booker T. Jones and Ronnie Scott’s All Stars are among the highlights for Spring 2019.

Sage Gateshead’s New Year New Artist Festival in January will showcase some exciting, new generation artists including Vels Trio and the math rock and electronic sounds of Slow Loris and Purple Shirt. April 1 will see the first North East visit for Mercury Prize nominated, cosmic-psychedelic jazz trio The Comet is Coming. And in May the pioneering Gondwana records label (home to GoGo Penguin and Portico Quartet) celebrates 10 years with a special one-nighter featuring first visits by Mammal Hands, Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra, Noya Rayo and more.


Fans of boundary crossing, contemporary jazz/classical will enjoy ECM recording artist Tigran Hamasyan’s sensational solo piano and choral concert on January 26, with special guests Voices of Hope choir. March 3 will see Trumpet player/composer Laura Jurd and guests the Ligeti Quartet, Dinosaur, Heida Mobeck and Anja Lauvdal in a celebration of new sounds. This dynamic 14-piece ensemble will be made up of world-class improvisers and contemporary music-makers from Norway and the UK.

Also from Norway is spellbinding composer and tuba player Daniel Herskedal, appearing on March 23, promoting his third album Voyage on Edition Records. Following his recently released solo album, two-time Grammy-winning pianist and founding member of Snarky Puppy, Bill Laurance, will perform on April 6.

The legendary Booker T.Jones makes a welcome return to delight funk and soul fans on February 26. And The Cinematic Orchestra will also return to Sage One in the Spring with full details to be announced early in the New Year.  

Mark Nightingale and his Strictly Smokin’ Big Band perform on February 23 and on April 26 the Ronnie Scott’s All Stars will perform their 60th Anniversary Concert. Direct from London’s world-famous jazz club, combining world-class live jazz alongside rare archive photos and video footage, the band will take the audience on a guided, musical tour of what has now become a music institution.

The season is part of a refreshed approach to programming jazz at Sage Gateshead, which will see a broader year-round programme and a new, fixed-date slot for the Gateshead International Jazz Festival. The annual festival will be relaunched on the third full weekend of March (20-22) in 2020 after taking a break next year.

Tamsin Austin, Director of Performance Programme at Sage Gateshead, said: “We are very excited about entering a new era for jazz at Sage Gateshead. We are currently focusing on delivering a broader, year-round programme to grow our audiences.

“We have a fantastic Spring season of performances from across a range of jazz/cross over genres and at the same time we are working hard on refreshing our annual festival so that we can strengthen the offer at Sage Gateshead for the long term.”

For more information on jazz at Sage Gateshead or to book tickets visit 
  • 18 January – Vels Trio + Slow Loris + Purple Shirt
  • 26 January – Tigran including special guests Voices of Hope
  • 26 February – Booker T. Jones
  • 3 March – Laura Jurd & guests ft. the Ligeti Quartet, Dinosaur, Heidi Mobeck & Anja Lauval
  • 23 March – Daniel Herskedal
  • Spring - The Cinematic Orchestra (full details to be announced in the New Year).
  • 1 April  – The Comet is Coming
  • 6 April – Bill Laurance
  • 26 April  – Ronnie Scott’s All Stars
  • 3 May – Gondwana Records 10: Mammal Hands, Matthew Halsall & Gondwana Orch, Noya Rao, Caoilfhionn Rose and Hania Rani.

No comments :

Blog Archive