Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. St Thomas & Bésame Mucho. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Side Cafe Oᴙkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Table reservations: 0191 477 3970.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Monday, February 10, 2020

Tyneside’s Jazz Vocalist of the Year is Belgium-bound

(Press release)

Newcastle jazz musician, Zoë Gilby, has already started 2020 in fine form, following up her 2019 Parliamentary Awards Jazz Vocalist of the Year with the announcement that she is the 2020 NE Online Magazine Artist of the Year, and now she’s Belgium-bound in late March for the Leuven Jazz Festival.

Situated in the Flanders region, twenty-five kilometres east of the capital, Brussels, the Leuven Jazz Festival celebrates its eighth year this March, a ten-day extravaganza between the 19th and 29th, with a focus on the female artists – ‘singers, pianists, drummers, trumpeters; meet the female power of modern jazz.’  

“Andy and I have been to Belgium on holiday before, a few years ago, and it’s an amazing place”, smiled Zoë.
“In fact, Andy has performed in Ghent, Brussels and Saint-Niklaas with other acts so we're no strangers to the country.”

Zoë will be performing on the Sunday afternoon from 2pm at the Huiskamer familie Hermans-Pini, timing which affords an opportunity for the pair to take in some of the delights of both the festival, and of the city and its surrounding areas, then heading to the cosmopolitan region for a long weekend.  

In bringing her duo performance, alongside husband and bass player, Andy Champion, to the festival’s ‘Female Focus,’ a delighted Zoë added: “I am so honoured to be included alongside other female singers, pianists, drummers and trumpeters.
“It really will be a meeting of the female powers of modern jazz, although it’s not just a focus on the women in jazz.

“I’m also delighted to be performing with my fantastic double bass playing husband, Andy Champion and it’ll be a pleasure to be able to share our duo project.
“It’s intense to perform as just voice and bass but the buzz we create from our duo is about embracing space, and exploring energies that just the two of us can create.
“It’s a soundscape with two instruments.”

Alongside headline acts which include Vijay Iyer & Craig Taborn, Julian Lage Trio, Jakob Bro & Jesse van Ruller, Philip Catherine & Eric Legnini, LG Jazz Collective, The Breath, Incognito and LTJ Bukem, Zoë’s performance takes place on Sunday 29 March at 14:00 at the Huiskamer familie Hermans-Pini – places are at a premium so it’s urged to visit https://www.leuvenjazz.be/en/programme/detail/Zoe-gilby--andy-champion for further information.
Leuven Jazz Festival (English): https://www.leuvenjazz.be/en 
and (Dutch) https://www.leuvenjazz.be/ 

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