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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:15pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bywell Hall, Stocksfield. 1:30pm. Northumberland County Show.
Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm.
Sat 24: Dean Stockdale Quartet + Mingus Sings @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Stockdale (piano); Tim Williams (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums) + Mingus Sings: Sara Oschlag (vocals); Alan Barnes (reeds); Tim Lapthorn (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); Clark Tracey (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sat 24: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 24: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sat 24: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 24: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 25: Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion: Bandstand Sessions @ The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free. A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Spanish City Plaza (outdoor stage). 1:00pm. Free. A Whitley Bay Carnival event.
Sun 25: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Catriona Bourne Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Bourne (harp), Francis Tulip (guitar), James Owston (double bass), Joe Bainbridge (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Struggle Buggy @ The Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 25: Joe Steels Group + Norma Winstone (vocals); Nikki Iles (piano); Mike Walker (guitar); Steve Watts (double bass). 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Steels (guitar); Ferg Kilsby (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Susans (double bass); John Hirst (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 25: Xhosa Cole/Neil Charles/Mark Sanders @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A JNE promotion. Note: Xhosa Cole replaces Nicole Mitchell.

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

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Book Review: Geoff Leonard & Pete Walker - Hit and Miss: The Story of the John Barry Seven

The John Barry 7 could by no means be classified as a jazz group although most of their members, including John Barry Prendergast himself, were certainly jazz orientated. JBP studied 'Composition and Orchestration', via a correspondence course, with Stan Kenton arranger Bill Russo and it may come as a surprise to find that the seven's pianist Les Reed, who later penned Engelbert Humperdink's hit recording of The Last Waltz, was considered a first-rate jazz musician.

The book covers the career of the group from Barry's early days at the Rialto in York, the dropping of his surname, the musical partnership with Adam Faith, the Radio and TV shows such as Saturday Club, Oh Boy and Drumbeat and the endless one-night stands up and down the land.

The seven peaked during the period bookended by the post-Bill Haley/Freddy Bell era and the arrival of The Beatles during which time they were second only to The Shadows as an instrumental group. Later, Barry would achieve individual acclaim as a composer - The James Bond Theme being perhaps his greatest success although there were many others including picking up five Oscars for various film soundtracks before his death in 2011.

Authors Leonard and Walker, building on Leonard's earlier work - John Barry: The Man With The Midas Touch, give an almost day by day account of the ups and downs of the concerts, broadcasts, recording sessions and gigs at venues as contrasting as the Royal Albert Hall in London and the Top Hat Club in Spennymoor.

Of particular interest to readers in the northeast are the references to the late Bobby Carr who played trumpet with the band after Barry decided to concentrate on composing and arranging. Bobby, a legend himself in the northeast (born at 9 Pioneer Tce., Bedlington on March 6, 1930), is recorded as bemoaning the fact he got so few jazz opportunities with the band. Cormac Loane, well-known former Newcastle based saxist, also paid a warm tribute to Bobby who died on March 13, 1979.

Further local interest surfaces in the form of Johnny Worth (a.k.a Les Vandyke) who penned a score of hits for Adam Faith and others. Johnny's son, Cristos Worsley, was active on the Tyneside scene playing bass guitar with a band called HCW (John Hirst/Ed Carr/Cristos Worsley) although I haven't seen him around for a few years.

Barry comes across as someone who knew where he was going and how to get there 
A fascinating, well-written book covering the scene before the beat boom of the sixties decimated everything that had preceded it - at least for a time.

Within the 350 pages are a host of photos, lots of memorabilia in the form of record sleeves, theatre posters, programmes, publicity handouts, musical press extracts along with a discography, bibliography, index and much much more...

There's still time to get if for Christmas if you hurry otherwise you'll have to use up those gift vouchers that mysteriously appear at the foot of the tree on Christmas Day.
Recommended.
Lance.

PS: A couple of minor corrections.
1 - Dizzy Reece was Jamaican, not American (p. 84). 
2 - The Rialto Cinema in York wasn't the only place in the north to present bands such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington etc. The City Hall and the Odeon Cinema in Newcastle also featured concerts by American big bands (p.20).

Hit and Miss: The Story of the John Barry Seven by Geoff Leonard & Pete Walker. Published by Redcliffe Press Ltd., 81G Pembroke Rd., Bristol BS8 3EA. 
ISBN 9781911408 390. (Hardback £30).

3 comments :

Unknown said...

______

I received my copy of HIT AND MISS (in Texas from Bristol England) in less than a week and I'm thrilled with the high standards of excellence on every page.

So many "fanboy" books are not much better than teenybopper scrapbooks.
Not this tome, however!

I didn't want to risk not having it by Christmas so I gifted myself :)

Money well spent--highly recommended by me.

Thank you so much for this review. Now others who appreciate the history of this music will have a heads up.



Liz said...

Re John Barry 7, yes, my era, I knew them all, and lived near Barry, remember walking home with him one night after some dance or other. Barry was his name, Barry Prendergast, we all knew him by that name. His sister June was another one of the family who I knew, also his dad, Xavier. The Rialto was like a second home to me, Sunday night band shows...such great times...

Geoff Leonard said...

Thanks for the review, which in my opinion (co-author) was a very fair one. I would just mention that if anybody is interested in purchasing a copy, there's a discount of £7.50 if you buy direct from me! http://johnbarry.org.uk/johnbarryseven/

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