Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion.
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm.
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Monday, November 19, 2018

The Velvet Revolution + Charlie Collins and Friends @ The Cumberland Arms - Nov. 16

The Velvet Revolution: Daniel Erdmann (saxes); Théo Ceccaldi (violin); Jim Hart (vibes).

Charlie Collins and Friends: Charlie Collins (percussion); Eun-Jung Kim (komungo); Derek Saw (trumpet); Faye MacCalman (clarinet).
(Review by Steve H/photos to follow)

At about 11 o’clock on Friday night, a bearded figure carrying a grey suitcase entered the upstairs room of the Cumberland Arms to a round of applause. French violinist Theo Ceccaldi had just arrived straight from Newcastle Airport after a tortuous journey from Toulouse. Like a real trooper and with no time to lose Theo joined the other 2 members of The Velvet Revolution to complete a stunning evening of music.

Due to his late arrival, we were treated to a duo set from Erdmann and Hart. Some of the tunes were even world premieres as the very dry-witted Erdman explained. Their set was an unscheduled bonus which also included updates of Ceccalidi’s arrival time (the plane actually landed at 22.05 and luckily in these pre-Brexit times there were no immigration hold-ups).

When the trio eventually played together the music was even livelier, Ceccaldi seeming to be suffering no after-effects from his arduous travels. Interestingly, he played without a bow for much of the time strumming the violin to great effect.

Hart on vibes was extremely watchable incorporating all sorts of effects including employing what appeared to be 2 wooden coat hangers as bows. Erdmann is a wonderfully creative lyrical player. Both duo and trio sets were different enough to have a unique feel to them but what they did have in common was the sheer quality of the performance.

The evening had begun with regular Tyneside visitor Charlie Collins performing a duet with Eun-Jung Kim on komungo (a  horizontal wooden stringed instrument). Collins is a percussive magician continually pulling objects from up his sleeve or out of a top hat to create weird and wonderful beats and sounds.  Kim plucked with a stick, strummed and picked on the komungo in total harmony with Collins producing a very subtle meditative set.  

After a short break, the pair were joined by Derek Saw on trumpet and our own Faye MacCalman on clarinet. Picking up where Kim and Collins had left off, a dreamy floaty soundscape evolved allowing this listener at times to drift off into very pleasant cerebral spaces.
A great evening at an infrequently used venue for jazz - four sets of fascinating and enjoyable music accompanied by some very fine real ale – it doesn’t get much better than that.
Steve H.
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