Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey (to Terence Blanchard): ''You ain't Miles find your own shit to do!'' (DownBeat May, 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

18504 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 368 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 7 ) 22

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

May

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Hey Remember This @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 14: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Philip Larkin’s Jazz Experiment.
Thu 14: Jerron Paxton @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Superb country blues.
Thu 14: Solcade @ the Bridge Hotel, Newcastle. 7:00pm. EP launch. Rivkala & co..
Thu 14: Jacob Egglestone @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass); Jack Littlewood (drums) & guests.
Thu 14: 58 Jazz Collective @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 15: Conor Emery Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Line-up Emery (trombone); Alix Shepherd (piano); John Pope (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01 adv., £15.00 on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Puppini Sisters @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!

Sat 16: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner. God Bless the Child - Lady Day!. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 16: Kaberry Big Band @ the Seahorse Pub, Hillheads Rd., Whitley Bay NE23 8HR. From 7:30pm. £15.00
Sat 16: Lady Nade @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. ‘Lady Nade sings Nina Simone’.

Sun 17: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Forum Theatre, Billingham. 7:30pm.
Sun 17: QOW Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Spike Wells, Riley Stone-Lonergan & Eddie Myer.

Mon 18: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 18: Mark Williams Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 19: GoGo Penguin + Daudi Matsiko @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £22.00 + £4.40 bf.
Tue 19: Danny Lowndes’ Hot Club @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £5.00 bf.
Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Mark Robertson (drums).

Friday, February 15, 2019

NUJO: ❤❤❤❤ Make jazz not love ❤❤❤❤ @ Bar Loco - Feb 14

(Review by Russell)

Happy Valentine's Day! Newcastle's student hangout on Leazes Park Road couldn't have been busier. If anyone was looking for a valentine this was the place although it could be that they would have to settle for a sardine so packed was it.

Through the doors then up the stairs - on the way nodding to NUJO (Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra) President Tom McDonald - to the unmistakable sounds of TS Monk. The jam session was well underway...MAKE JAZZ NOT ❤❤❤❤!!!

A TrainWatermelon ManIt Don't Mean a Thing - performed by an ever-changing, quite bewildering number of NUJO sitters-in. What's this? Alto saxophonist Matt Green behind the traps...where's Archie Williamson? Southpaw guitarist James Cuxson was there, he's an ever-present cog in the NUJO set-up. Horn players galore, percussionists by the dozen, it was noisy, raucous, make jazz not ❤❤❤❤!!!

To help along the ❤❤❤❤ the bar was ticking over at a rate of knots. Downstairs a folk session was getting underway, Bar Loco has a thing going on...

Hey! Ben Richardson leapt up to sit-in on Lullaby of Birdland, staying on for A Night in Tunisia. In the run-up to a short interval the hordes wondered: I Wish I Knew...sing-a-long now! Mr PC took it out. The interval...make ❤❤❤❤ not jazz - the bar supplying the lubrication.

Second set, question: How many students can fit into Bar Loco's upstairs room? Answer: zillions. Grade A students this lot, you know. Altoist Matt took the mic (Archie had arrived) to sing Fly me to the moon with a room full of backing singers - make jazz not ❤❤❤❤. Speaking of which...Can't Take My Eyes Off You with everyone singing along, the throng literally bouncing up and down, this was party time! 

Departing the scene your correspondent looked in on the downstairs on-going folk session. Fiddles and squeezeboxes fiddled and squeezed and in amongst it all was the Ushaw Ensemble's Andy May. Yep, Bar Loco is the place to make jazz, folk, and, perhaps...❤❤❤❤. Happy Valentine's Day!  
Russell.

No comments :

Blog Archive