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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mark Williams Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 23: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Mu Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!
Sun 23: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: ?

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Jamie McCredie @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. THIS WEEK ONLY JAMES BIRKETT (guitar)!
Fri 28: Luis Verde Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Knats @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.50. (inc bf.). Album launch gig. Support act TBC.
Fri 28: Black is the Color of My Voice @ The Gala, Durham. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by the life of Nina Simone, performed by Florence Odumosu.
Fri 28: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival: Musicians Unlimited @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 8:00pm. £10.00. (Weekend ticket £20.00., available on the door). Day 1/3. Musicians Unlimited in concert.
Fri 28: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

MARCH 2025

Sat 01: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 11:00am. £15.00. Day 2/3.
Sat 01: TJ Johnson Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Get your funk on! Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ The Watch House, Cullercoats. 2:00-3:30pm. Free.
Sat 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Struggle Buggy @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Blues band.
Sat 01: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 01: Jack & Jay’s Vintage Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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, December 21, 2019

Paul Edis and Friends: A Jazzy Christmas @ Ushaw College – Dec. 20

(Review by Steve T/ Photos courtesy of Jerry E).

Tonight promised some changes from the set at Middlesbrough Town Hall the previous Sunday, presumably for us die-hards taking in more than one of the four shows this year.

The first came with the full ensemble on stage for the opening Winter Wonderland. Solos from trumpet, sax and violin; piano and guitar switching comping duties, as they would throughout the set; more exchanges between sax and violin during the extended fade.

All I Want for Christmas is You is a new one for this year, which doesn't feature on the accompanying album. Taken at a slower pace than Maria Carey's original brought out the blues, guitar taking a solo, violin cutting through above the horns. This is another Christmas song which seems to have gained some credibility recently - apparently it's currently no 1 in America - perhaps because she's a serious singer, and Paul rightly paid tribute to Jo - another seriously good singer.

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree was taken as a rhumba, before The Christmas Waltz, which, following an introduction from horns and violin, featured solos from soprano and piano, Paul's first and, in amongst everything else, it's easy to forget what a fine pianist he is.

From our vantage point I noticed the juxtaposition of the combination of horns: muted trumpet and flute, trombone and clarinet, all, trombone and trumpet, clarinet and flute.

I'll be Home for Christmas took it down to voice, piano, bass and drums and featured a lovely light-touch bass solo from the Champion.

Another new piece for this year, via Home Alone, is Carol of the Bells, a piccolo feature with another violin solo, both ladies acquitting themselves splendidly.

Paul and wife Kate's Christmas original followed, sang by Paul, and the number one spot will need to wait for another year; a beautiful, short piano solo followed by tenor unravelling for another appropriately concise solo.

The first set finished with the return of Jo Harrop for some throaty, sassy, sexy singing on Santa Baby, intermingled with Basie's Splanky.

Set two opened with my favourite track from the album (sorry Jo), an instrumental, sax led version of Chris Rea's Driving Home for Christmas. Paul noted he'd forgotten the previous week that Rea is a Boro native. I don't rate the chances of the original if this version ever gets out.

Jo was back for Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow, muted trumpet taking it back to New Orleans, solos from soprano and bass before a round of fours from the ever resourceful Russ Morgan.

What are you doing New Year’s Eve? took it down to voice and piano as the band scattered to the four corners of the theatre for Once in Royal David's City, led by piano, violin, flute, trombone, drums, bowed bass and sax.

New Year New You is another new song from Paul and Kate Edis - an expanded edition of the album next year perhaps - and is a twelve bar blues with solos from sax and guitar, followed by a singalong.

The Christmas Song, complete with chestnuts metaphorically roasting on an open fire, featured a lovely violin part before the final song Sleigh Ride lost the strings and slimmed the horns down to sax and trumpet for a race to the finish, stopping for a solo piano interlude which found our maestro in Scott Joplin territory.

Edis had hinted at an encore without all the fuss of leaving the stage and White Christmas - more a Christmas anthem than song - gave Jo a last chance to pull at our emotions, Emma adding some beautiful embellishments, sharing solos with clarinet, before finishing with a lovely final flourish.

I can only imagine this is going to grow and grow. 
Steve T          

Paul Edis (piano/vocal); Jo Harrop (vocal); Emma Fisk (violin); Matt Anderson (tenor/soprano saxes); Graham Hardy (trumpet/flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone); Megan Robinson (flute/piccolo); Faye Thompson (alto sax/clarinet); Francis Tulip (guitar); Andy Champion (bass); Russ Morgan (drums).

3 comments :

Steve T said...

Watching it again at the Sage tonight (and I've no doubt Russell will be reviewing it), as the band dispersed around the three levels, I thought I'd put the wrong choon in my review of Ushaw, until Paul explained there were six carols going on, depending on where you were in the theatre. Genius.

JERRY said...

At Ushaw we were two seats away from Faye on clarinet and we got The Sussex Carol. Proper title for all was A Congregation of Carols. Pun intended, surely?

Lance said...

At Sage Gateshead we got Emma and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. That's three down and three to go!

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