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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

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Bellavana @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30-10:00pm. Free. A Late Shows event.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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’.

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

Sunday, March 31, 2019

JRR & J to Z @ Free Thinking Festival, Sage Gateshead - March 30

(Review & sign picture by RussellMusician PHOTOS courtesy of Malcolm Sinclair)

It was an opportunity to think, freely, for free. For those who couldn't be bothered to think others were on hand to do it for them, for free. The eggheads came in all shapes and sizes...the traditional egghead, the jolly, the cool and then there was the audience...the egghead, the jolly, the vacant and, for two and a half hours at least, the cool, 'cool' because it was jazz time here at Sage Gateshead.

BBC Radio 3's annual pilgrimage north of the Watford Gap conjures an image of a deserted Broadcasting House as presenters, producers, assistants and assistants to assistants enjoy a 'jolly', sorry, work extremely hard, shining a Free Thinking light on the banks of the Tyne. Saturday afternoon offered two jazz programmes, back-to-back, broadcast live from Sage Gateshead to Radio 3's nationwide audience. 

Alyn Shipton is a welcome visitor returning once again to present Jazz Record Requests (4:00pm, as usual) followed by J to Z presented by the ebullient Jumoké Fashola. Of course there was plenty of 'up north' content across the two and a half hours and a half - not any old stuff, you understand, but the crème de la crème. JRR's usual format applied - Shipton introduced a listener's request, we, the audience, listened to it, Shipton introduced another request...simple but brilliant! 

Today's edition of your weekly appointment with JRR included live jazz from Jo Harrop, Paul Edis and Shipton himself - no mean bass player is Mr S! Cheek to Cheek sang Jo accompanied by the brilliant Edis, piano, and the multi-tasking Shipton reading the dots and reading his cues. Jo chose a track - Nancy Wilson singing Never Let Me Go with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Paul dedicated the Benny Green Trio's live (Village Vanguard) take on Don't Be 'Shamed to Ushaw College's Roger Kelly, and, to close the programme, the award-winning jazz blog editor of this BSH parish, LL (cue applause!), stepped up to request Jo, Paul and Alyn play I Wished on the Moon.    

Free Thinking eggheads contributed - Lisa Appignanesi requested Bessie Smith singing Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, the Bard of Barnsley, Ian McMillan  selected The Peddlers' Lockshen Pudding (bassist Tab Martin hailed from Tyneside) and Jambone trumpet player Lucien Guest spoke to Mr Shipton about the region's music education scene in introducing Jo Harrop and Paul Edis performing Rome Wasn't Built in a Day.
 
Free Thinking headphones were available for those wishing to listen, without distraction, to the conversation emanating from Radio 3's pop-up studio. 

Mr Shipton negotiated a seamless hand-over as Jumoké Fashola took up the reins. Bang on five o'clock Sage Gateshead's Free Thinking audience emoted: Yeah! Are you listening out there in Radioland? Get this - the Graeme Wilson Quartet! Profane Drawings of Trees (check out James Hogg),  After School (Wilson dedicated the number to today's birthday girl, Isabel, two today!) and The Bold Sammy (check out the criminally neglected James Kelman) showcased one of the best bands on today's European jazz scene. 

Multi-reedsman Graeme Wilson made the trip from Edinburgh to his former Tyneside base to reunite with the A-Team  - Messrs Paul Edis (piano, keyboards, flute), Andy Champion (double bass, bass guitar, flute) and, your correspondent's favourite drummer (and percussionist!) Adam Sinclair. The quartet's performance was razor-sharp, solos top notch, Radio 3's listening millions couldn't have been other than impressed. Today's three numbers were taken from Graeme Wilson's latest recording Abscondit (www.gigmit.com/graeme-wilson-quartet).  

Tyneside works hard at promoting the best it has to offer and this afternoon's live broadcasts didn't do any harm at all. The sun shone, Sage Gateshead looked a picture, the place packed and, hopefully, BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking Festival will return next year. This year's theme was 'Emotion', next year - who knows? One thing is for certain, Tyneside will be up for it.  

Russell

2 comments :

Liz said...

I loved it, especially the deserved mention for BSH! Jo delighted in Lance's request, great Saturday afternoon listening for those of us who couldn't actually be there.

Jerry said...

Wonderful afternoon!
Great pictures, Malcolm: thanks, Russell for the tips on Messrs. Kelman and Hogg - Graeme's enigmatic titles begin to make more sense (and I have added to my summer reading list in the process).
JERRY

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