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

19,061 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 925 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 30) 104.

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

October.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Fri 06: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 1/3.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Jazz Night: Bridget Metcalfe @ Saltburn House Hotel. From 6:00pm. Tickets: £40.00 (inc. a two-course meal & glass of Prosecco). Tel: 01287 658977.

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Beaumont Hotel, Hexham - Nov 26

Ruth Lambert (vocals); Giles Strong (guitar); Paul Susans (double bass)
(Review by Russell)

It had been a while. Ruth Lambert recently returned to performing with the Customs House Big Band but this trio gig was a first opportunity to hear Ms Lambert in an intimate setting, up close, singing to an attentive audience. 

Taking a Chance on Love (comp. Vernon Duke) for starters. Sure enough, Lambert was as good as ever, singing gems from the Great American Songbook. No Moon at All, Here's That Rainy Day (the first of two Van Heusen/Burke numbers), What is This Thing Called Love? - Lambert the supreme interpreter of timeless material. What's more, Lambert's musical associates - Giles Strong and Paul Susans - offered impeccable support during the evening. 


It Could Happen to You opened the second set followed by Teach Me Tonight (it's in the Customs House Big Band's pad), the masterclass continued. Guitarist Giles Strong was the consummate accompanist, taste in abundance. Similarly, affable bassist Paul Susans provided a secure foundation, himself taking an occasional, succinct solo. 

High to low register and back again, often within a couple of bars, Lambert sang with élan, making it look and sound easy. Easy? No way! Lambert is at the top of her game, she's been there for a long time and there's no doubt she'll retain her pre-eminent position in the hierarchy of GASbook singers far into the future. 

Lambert's interpretation of Skylark (comp. Hoagy Carmichael) was never less than masterful, similarly Beautiful Love, one could have listened to this all night but the nine o'clock finish was fast approaching. Billie’s Lover Man heard Lambert at her most introspective, then, as if by design, the mood, and tempo, lifted with It's Only a Paper Moon. It may well be a Barnum and Bailey world, as phony as it can be, but wouldn't you just love to live in Lambert's GASbook world?   

Hexham's Beaumont Hotel is a recent addition to the jazz gig circuit and it is to be hoped that it will develop an audience over the coming weeks. Next Monday (Dec 3, seven o'clock start) it's the duo of Paul Edis (piano) and Graham Hardy (trumpet and flugelhorn).     

Russell.
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