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, January 28, 2019

Musicians Unlimited @ The Park Inn, Hartlepool - Jan 27

(Review by Russell).

A bitterly cold wind blew through Hartlepool this afternoon. Head down, bent double, Scott of the Antarctic surely didn't encounter conditions such as these. The Park Inn came into view, a welcome sight if ever there was one. 

Mick Donnelly's Musicians Unlimited were busy setting up as the regulars arrived to claim their usual seats. A pint of Marston's 61 Deep Pale Ale (3.8) looked the pick and so it proved...
Frank Loesser's Brotherhood of Man opened the programme with ace trumpeters Kevin Eland and Bill Watson laying down early markers. Teesside's premier big band had a number of big hitters in the ranks with all sections sounding just fine as several featured soloists stepped up to the plate. It had been a while since Bebop Spoken Here had caught up with Mick Donnelly's outfit and on this Sunday afternoon a new name - new to BSH - made a big impression. Vocalist Jan Spencelayh sang Don't Know Why. A lower register, measured delivery, Jan is one to hear again, that's for sure! 
MD Donnelly leafed through the pad (seemingly several hundred numbers in a well-thumbed book!) and plucked out Gershwin - Someone to Watch Over Me featuring our talented vocalist - and a couple from Cole Porter - My Heart Belongs to Daddy and You Do Something to Me - Jan featuring once more, with Mark Toomey, playing clarinet, sharing the limelight on the latter. 

Bill Watson impressed, as did 'bone man Keith Norris, on the second set opener Jersey Bounce (a war-time smash hit for Benny Goodman). Old Devil Moon sang Jan - great stuff! - followed by some serious blowing on High Maintenance as Mick Shoulder swapped bull fiddle for electric bass, Toomey and Watson once more caught the ear as Sue Ferris, baritone sax, and Peter Morgan, bass trombone, charted a safe passage through Gordon Goodwin's turbulent big band number. And that was about it, but not quite. MD Mick Donnelly remarked that it had been about a year since the band last played One O'clock Jump. This was terrific stuff, it had been worth the wait! The Park Inn, Hartlepool, Sundays, one o'clock, Musicians Unlimited...it all adds up to a canny day out.   
Russell. 
Musicians Unlimited: Mick Donnelly MD; Kevin Eland, Bill Watson, Bob Temple, Alan Catherall (trumpets); Keith Norris, Caroline Norris, Helen Grainger, Peter Morgan (trombones); Josh Bentham, Dan Johnson, Mark Toomey, Barbara Fagan, Sue Ferris (reeds); Ian Bosworth (guitar); Gary Hadley (keyboards); Mick Shoulder (double bass, bass guitar); John Bradford (drums); Ernie Jackson (percussion); Jan Spencelayh (vocals)
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1 comment :

Unknown said...

Followed Mick for years.We are fortunate in having this band in Hartlepool.Only jazz available unfortunately.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019 3:21:00 pm

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