Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18721 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 585 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 18) 49

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

July

Sat 25: Sing Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-5:00pm. £27.50. Tutor: Alexia Gardner. Cheek to Cheek - Ella Fitgerald. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Costa Café (within Next), MetroCentre, Gateshead. 2:00-3:00pm. Free.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Bright Street Big Band @ Sandhaven Amphitheatre, South Shields. 3.30-5.30pm.
Sun 26: Jo Harrop & Jamie McCredie @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00.
Sun 26: King Bees @ Luckies, Jesmond, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: Liam & Shayo @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free. Liam Oliver (guitar), Shayo Oshodi (vocals).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ Music Dept., Durham University. 9:15pm. A Durham Fringe Festival event

Thu 30: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 30: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes. .

Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: Milne Glendinning Band @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00-9:00pm. £6.00. A Berwick Fringe Festival event. £6.00 (£6.00 wristband access to all Fringe events).

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Fabled @ The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle - Sept. 22

Sam Rapley (sax/clarinet/compositions); Alex Munk (guitar); Matt Robinson (piano); Conor Chaplin (double bass); Will Glaser (drums)

(Review by Steve H/Photo courtesy of Ken Drew)

Weirdly, for an album tour, the band had no CDs for sale. This though was for the best  of reasons - they had sold them all at their previous gig as part of the Scarborough Jazz Festival. 

Fabled was formed by Sam Rapley in 2014, a debut EP followed in 2015 and they are now touring their first album Short Stories. According to the pre-publicity the band draws inspiration from various musical genres - classical, jazz, world (whatever that may be)  and indie folk. Rapley also has a keen interest in cinematic music having already scored several soundtracks for short movies. 
What was delivered at this JNE concert on Sunday night was pretty much what it said on the tin - cinematic landscapes with all their stated influences clearly evident .

The album tunes are inspired by major life events  - birth, love, marriage and death that kind of thing. This might seem a bit heavy going but the music was anything but. The tunes were melodious and uplifting, not a depressing riff to be found. 

My favourite bits of the evening were the times when Rapley and drummer Glaser upped the ante and took it out of the safe zone - normally towards the end of each number. As a quintet the unit were superb,  totally at one with each other clearly enjoying the music they were creating together and, since the audience seemed to be enjoying it just as much, a fine evening was had by all. 
Steve H.  

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