Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Tue 21: ???

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
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: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

Thursday, May 30, 2019

The Levee Ramblers @ Springwell Village Community Venue - May 29

Mick Hill (trumpet, vocals); Liz Bacon (clarinet); Jim Blenkin (trombone, vocals); Dave Rae (banjo, guitar, vocals); John Robinson (double bass); Paul Bacon (drums)
(Review by Russell)

It had been a while. An enforced absence obliged the Levee Ramblers to take a vacation, then, as word spread on the jazz grapevine that the sextet was about to resume its Wednesday evening residency Springwell Village Community Venue opened its doors to welcome home Dave Rae and co.

It was as if the band had never been away with regulars claiming their favourite seats and catching up on the gossip before settling down for an evening of New Orleans jazz. Sam Morgan's Bogalusa Strut for starters - yes, it was business as usual! Band leader Dave Rae is one of the region's classiest banjo players and, by way of a bonus, sings a few numbers with an affecting, plaintive delivery which was perfectly illustrated as the Ramblers played Johnny Wiggs' Postman's Lament
Versatile veteran trumpeter Mick Hill took a brief vocal chorus on Swanee River leading on to some serious ensemble playing on Jelly Roll Morton's Pontchartrain Blues. A spiritual is an essential component of a Levee Ramblers' gig and it came to pass that Rae sang Walking with the King. Bunk Johnson is a staple and we heard One Sweet Letter (Rae vocals) and later in the set Tiger Rag á la the trumpeter's mid-forties recording with, as our banjoist band leader was quick to point out, the indispensable contribution of Lawrence Marrero!  

Hill's strong lead trumpet and Rae's spot-on vocals accompanied by his four string (tenor) guitar playing featured on Punch Miller's Long Distance Blues and, with the interval fast approaching, Rae stuck with his guitar as Hill sang Dinah

The interval: the real ale revolution has yet to penetrate the far reaches of the Borough of Gateshead thus a bottle of Brown Ale was the order of the day (evening). An apposite choice given that early in the second set Ken, friend of Springwell jazz, got to his feet to deliver one of his occasional monologues, the title...Geordie Broon from Backworth. Your reviewer's companion for the evening won a raffle prize. Hooray! A CD and a box of chocolates the prizes on offer, surely the former would be claimed. Nope, the latter - oh, well!

The Weary Blues welcomed back the anything but weary supporters of Springwell Jazz Club. A stomper, an uptempo take on Brown Skin Mama, Ellington's Saturday Night Function (Rae, guitar), yes, a choice selection here on Fell Road. The Bacons - Liz (clarinet) in the frontline alongside Jim Blenkin's robust trombone playing and trumpeter Hill's measured lead, and drummer Paul, as steady a hand as one could wish for, surveying the scene in front of him with trusty sidekick John Robinson (string bass) at his side - are dyed-in-the-wool students of all things New Orleans. It's 2019, what's the betting Dave Rae's Levee Ramblers will still be flying the Crescent City flag in Springwell in 2029? Short odds, that's for sure.
Russell      

1 comment :

Dave Rae said...

Cheers Russell, it's good to be back. Dave

Blog Archive