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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

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

The Francis Tulip Quartet @ the Globe Jazz Bar - Dec. 22


Francis Tulip (guitar); Ben Lawrence (keys); Michael Dunlop (bass guitar); Matthew MacKellar (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex)

These musicians were on top form, no doubt about it. And the Jazz Coop promoted gig had nothing to do with Christmas apart from a quick reference to We Three Kings during the encore, so that made a nice break from the festivities. Thoroughly enjoyable, even though I was hampered by deafness in one ear (wax, you don't want to know) so Francis kindly supplied details of the tunes at half time, when he should have been resting after all that guitaring.

Straight in they started with Giraffe (Elvin Jones), strong, boppy guitar, flowing piano, lots of interplay between the two, drifting to a quiet ending. This I Dig Of You (Hank Mobley) had a seemingly simple few notes of tune, soon becoming improvisation, accompanied by very busy drums and cymbals, then bass and drum 4s, ending with the simple tune again on guitar, to a sudden stop.

Readers will have gathered that this music has a very different 'feel' from standard songs played as jazz. This music often involves repeated riffs, or by contrast, tunes which are entrancingly hard to pin down, a wispy feel, as in Infant Eyes (Wayne Shorter), which was gentle and contemplative, with light drumsticks and cymbals, and interesting bass. After Herbie Hancock's I Have A Dream, there came what sounded like the most difficult tune of the night – Birdless, composed by American drummer Ari Hoenig, which displayed a few different time signatures and goes to a bar of 2, so I was informed. The first set ended with Dizzy Gillespie's Con Alma.

The second set opened with The Hills Of Kykuit (Mike Moreno), a strong, smooth tune including a skilled drum solo, no less than we expect from Mr MacKellar who studies in the USA, then a boppy tune which I didn't catch the name of: this was followed by a continuation of the geographical theme, Shade Of The Cedar Tree (Christian McBride) which sounded very singable.

Matters Of Fact  was composed by Francis himself and the tune compared well with those we'd heard tonight from the well-known composers. It was a seemingly simple yet strong theme of 4 lines, 9 notes per line I think, with the guitar ending the tune with constant repetitions, very intriguing to listen to. Next, a Charlie Parker homage, short punchy lines, rhythm changes, a drum solo keeping to the shape of the tune, and a sudden stop. Herbie Hancock's One Finger Snap was the last official tune, solos all round, and the demanded encore was a standard, Gene De Paul's I'll Remember April.

The audience went home well satisfied. Catch these fine young musicians now while you still can – they have a great future ahead, so you may have to travel further before too long.
Ann Alex

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