Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''I believe we are living in a historically embarrassing moment in American history.'' - Downbeat December 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

18061 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 1025 of them this year alone and, so far, 39 this month (Dec. 14).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Fri 19: Fraser Urquhart @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT! .
Fri 19: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free..
Fri 19: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free..
Fri 19: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00..
Fri 19: Castillo Nuevo @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:00pm. Free. .
Fri 19: Alexia Gardner @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy..
Fri 19: Paul Skerritt @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes. .
Fri 19: Giles Strong Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club..
Fri 19: Creakin’ Bones & the Xmas Dinners @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £13.01 (inc. bf)..
Fri 19: Mark Toomey Quintet @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 20: Jazz Attack @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 11:00am. Free.
Sat 20: Alexia Gardner @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy. SOLD OUT!
Sat 20: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Sat 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: Hoodoo Blues @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:15pm (doors). £14.25, £11.55. Dance class, social dancing, live music & Xmas Party. Live music from 9:00pm - Ruth Lambert, Giles Strong, Ian Paterson & John Bradford (jazz and blues).
Sat 20: John Pope Quintet @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 7:30-8:30pm. £7.70 (inc. bf). Album recording session.

Sun 21: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. ‘Xmas Swingalong’. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ o2 City Hall, Newcastle. 6:00pm. £35.80., £33.25., £31.00.
Sun 21: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Live music.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:30pm. Free.

Mon 22: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 23: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Alexia Gardner @ The Townhouse, Bridge St., Morpeth. 1:30-4:30pm. ‘The A Capella Sessions’. Gardner, Paula Gardner, Alexia Hope Gardner Diamany.
Wed 24: Paul Skerritt @ Mambo Wine & Dine, South Shields. 1:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Thu 25: Alexia Gardner @ The Townhouse, Bridge St., Morpeth. 1:30-4:00pm. ‘All About the Bass Sessions’. Alexia Gardner, Paula Gardner, Jude Murphy.

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 07, 2019

Steve Hackett Encore @ Newcastle City Hall 12/11/20

Following his triumphant gig at Sage Gateshead last month, the former Genesis guitarist has announced dates for next year, including - surprise surprise - Newcastle.

This time he's playing Seconds Out; his final album with the band, though he'd left by the time of its release. It's a double (vinyl) album which should be considered one of the greatest live rock albums ever, despite some seriously dodgy singing from Phil on seven tracks from the Gabriel era (including three from Selling England and the twenty three minute Supper's Ready) plus five from the two studio albums since he'd left, including one instrumental.  

Seconds Out featured Bill Bruford on drums (Yes, King Crimson, UK, Bruford, Earthworks) so Hackett's drummer is going to have his work cut out on the mammoth drum duels between two of rocks finest jazz influenced drummers, on the instrumental section of Cinema Show and Los Endos.

Anybody planning on going - and I strongly recommend you should - there are no decent seats left and soon there won't be any.
Steve T.

4 comments :

Billy Montgomery said...

I used to like this blog when it was all about jazz and the only Hackett mentioned was Bobby Hackett!

Russell said...

Well said, Bill. I understand Steve has an appointment with his GP to discuss his 'prog rock' affliction. As for 'Phil', I'd no more refer to Collins as 'Phil' than I would refer to effing Johnson as 'Boris'.

Steve T said...

This is about jazz. Jazzwise never goes a month without talking about progrock and often reviews prog albums, and not just the jazzier end. Don't recall seeing any reviews of Michael albums. In the early seventies jazz-rock - the premier jazz style of the time - and progrock weren't so much cousins as twins. The progrock revival is very much in line with the resurgence of interest in jazz and many of the young jazz musicians admit to major influences from progrock. A focus on musicianship and composition rather than verse chorus haircut should be welcome to jazzers. Part of the problem is that the nostalgia media attempted to present progrock as what happened between the Beatles and punkrock, but that was glamrock and prog was more in line with jazz, soul, funk, blues, reggae etc and only really hit the pop charts in the late seventies when it had - allegedly - imploded.

stevebfc said...

Bebop Spoken here
Is a blog that nobody should fear
You may at first get a shock
With reviews of Buble and Prog Rock
But the sites good intentions are clear

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