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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

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Giles Strong Trio @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall - May 24.


Giles Strong, Roly Veitch (guitars); Ian Paterson (bass).
(Review by Jerry/ Photos courtesy of Chris Whittle)

As a nod to the Laurel and Hardy connection (we were in the Laurel café), I had wanted to use the headline, “Another Fine Gig”, but for fear that it might be misconstrued as anything other than a compliment, I decided against it. But it was a fine gig, anyway – a mixture of (mostly) standards and a couple of originals, beautifully performed.

The standards were mostly arranged by Giles Strong, for which he received well-deserved applause at the first name-check and the originals held their own amidst familiar names like Kern and Porter as well as less familiar names (to me) such as Dietz and Schwartz, whose gentle, soothing, Alone Together, closed the gig. I had been looking forward to the performance as, although I have seen all three musicians before, I have never seen Ian Paterson on double bass and had never seen the two guitarists other than with vocalists or playing “gypsy-jazz”, Suffice to say, I was not disappointed!



First up was I’ll Remember April (Gene de Paul) which set the pattern for things to come, with a bass intro and then the two guitarists alternating lead. Nature Boy was written by eden ahbez who insisted on lower case letters for his name as “only God and Infinity deserve capitals”! I’ve heard the song countless times before, but never knew that! I mention that in passing – the knowledge does not change the song or my appreciation of its gentle, Latin-ish rhythms. Cole Porter’s Love for Sale had me noticing the absence of sheet-music today – who needs it when you are this comfortable with the material?

Giles Strong’s Everything Was Beautiful, was the first original – a lovely song, with or without lyrics. Ian Paterson’s solo here caught the attention – closely following the main harmony, all played towards the top end of the double-bass range. Very difficult, I imagine, and very effective here. It was a couple of tunes later before he got any applause for a solo, on Roly’s original, WT Blues (what’s the WT for, Roly?) which is a new tune to me – a nice, funky(?) foot-tapper. He deserved applause at various earlier points in the gig, providing many of the intros and endings to numbers, as well as soloing pleasantly. I suppose applause for every solo would be intrusive in a gig described as “chamber-jazz” where the mood is quite intimate and the volume level almost acoustic?

It wasn’t all about the bass, though, the two guitarists were on top form whether on blues or ballads with clean harmonies and gentle rhythms. On Jerome Kern’s Yesterdays, the bass went silent for a spell and we were treated to a guitar duo exchange which sounded more classical than either of the aforementioned genres. Great!

Unmentioned so far were the gentle Johnny Green ballad, Body and Soul and (another new name to me) George Fragos’ I Hear a Rhapsody which reminded me, obscurely, of the Beatles track, And I Love Her. Not sure why! The penultimate number was introduced as “a simple blues” – Billie’s Blues – on which Giles Strong and Roly Veitch both got a nice groove going and the bass gave us intro, solo, and final notes, again.

Promoter, Mick Shoulder, had introduced the trio as “the smartest band we’ve had here”- all three were suited and Roly even had a tie! Regardless of sartorial elegance he is to be congratulated for bringing such excellent music to Bishop Auckland on a regular basis. There may be a change of venue later this year when the Town Hall undergoes refurbishment, but the gigs will hopefully continue elsewhere. Watch this space…..
Jerry.

2 comments :

JERRY said...

Apologies to the musicians, I seem to have missed a few numbers in my review - ALL OF ME being one (there may have been more).

Roly said...

Thanks Jerry. No you didn't miss any of the set list. WT stands for Whole Tone as the tune is based on a music scale of that name. The town hall is a really lovely venue and well worth a visit to hear the jazz concerts there. Ample cheap parking very close by too.
Roly

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