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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

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, April 28, 2019

John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension @ the Barbican, London – April 23.

John McLaughlin (guitar, vocals); Gary Husband (keyboards, drums, vocals); Etienne M'bappe (bass, vocals); Ranjit Barot (drums, vocals).
(Review by Steve T)

The person who introduced the show observed that you can punctuate your life via the different phases of John McLaughlin. My own experience of the uber guitarist has been more intermittent, with my first in ‘73, two in the mid-nineties and three in the last four years.

I thought we might get some more Mahavishnu Orchestra and they opened with Trilogy, the long piece from Between Nothingness and Eternity (1973), with some added konnakol singing from Ranjit Barot, variously described as Indian scat singing and Indian drum language.

Thereafter, the set was drawn from across his long career, including Love and Understanding from Electric Dreams (1979) and Pharoah Saunder's The Creator Has a Masterplan, which he originally covered on the album he shared with Carlos Santana (also ‘73).
Most of the rest was perfectly enjoyable but, as with much post-seventies fusion, tended to blend into each other, despite inspired musicianship by all concerned. This more or less culminated in the inevitable drawn-out drum duel between Barot and Husband, some more konnakol breaking it up.

After the golden age of rock concerts, drum solos more or less fell out of favour and, while I welcome their recent return, I prefer the concise variety.

A welcome encore but a disappointment that he didn't dip back into the Mahavishnu catalogue, choosing something written by Husband he described, rather dubiously, as rock and roll.

They received an appropriate level of adulation from an ever so nearly sell-out Barbican. At seventy-seven, he's still mighty impressive, though noticeably less so than four years ago or eighteen months ago, which was precisely the motivation for the trip. A final homage to an extraordinary musician and artist who had a massive impact on me all those years ago.

I won't be travelling any distance to see this band again, but don't bet against future collaborations with old sparring partners, including Zakir Hussain, Chick Corea, Jean Luc Ponty, Al DeMiola, Santana, Kenny Garrett, Trilok Gurtu, Stanley Clarke, Joey De Francesco, Christian McBride, L Shankar, Narada Michael Walden, Dave Holland, Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, Rick Laird, Jerry Goodman etc etc ad infinitum.    
Steve T.

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