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, May 20, 2019

Sue Ferris Quintet @ Blaydon Jazz Club - May 19

Sue Ferris (tenor sax, flute); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Paul Edis (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Rob Walker (drums) 

(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Jerry)

The Sue Ferris Quintet plays too few gigs so this Blaydon Jazz Club date was an opportunity to catch up with the fine County Durham based saxophonist. The quintet comprised longstanding collaborators with one enforced change. Frontline partner Graham Hardy made it to the Black Bull, as did pianist Paul Edis and drummer Rob Walker with the one absentee, bassist Neil Harland, somewhere south of the Watford Gap. Ferris gave Andy Champion a call, he was available and, following an afternoon engagement on Newcastle's Quayside, arrived in good time for the seven-thirty start.
Ellington's Just Squeeze Me reminded the Black Bull's audience just how good Ferris is. Terrific, bold, full-toned tenor playing, the band leader set the standard and her bandmates rose to the challenge with top solos all round. The Double Up put Graham Hardy under scrutiny and the Northern Monkey came up trumps, our man knows his Lee Morgan.

A brace of Horace Silver upped the ante - The Natives Are Restless Tonight (Hardy's killer trumpet) and Song for My Father (Edis' astounding piano playing with fleet-as-you-like quotes from Milestones and Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise) - and My Romance maintained the highest of standards with Ferris' fine flute playing accompanied by Walker's delicate brushwork. Paul Edis' homage to McCoy Tyner closed a marvellous first set. 

The Deuchar's IPA was in paticularly tip-top condition demanding it be sampled again...and again! The raffle came and went...

Bill Evans opened the second set - not in person, of course, although, close your eyes and Paul Edis could make you think the late American superstar had returned to Planet Jazz, choosing to drop in at GASbook Central (aka Blaydon Jazz Club). 

It seems everyone is dedicating a tune to Roy Hargrove and Ferris chose to play Soppin' the Biscuit. Excellent, with more great piano courtesy of Dr Edis. Graham Hardy likes West Side Story and Ferris was more than happy to play the trumpeter's arrangement of One Hand, One Heart from Bernstein's masterwork (Hardy, flugelhorn). 

Blaydon Jazz Club's new, early start time of seven thirty ensured Ferris and co finished up for the evening not long after ten o'clock. The quintet went out on a funky Black Coffee. The next time you see a Sue Ferris gig listed make the effort to get along, the quintet is well worth catching. The next Blaydon Jazz Club concert is on Sunday 16 June (7:30). Members of the Francis Tulip Quartet will be flying in from all parts. These guys can play - big time! Don't miss them!   
Russell
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