Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18918 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 782 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 18.) 61.

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

September.

Mon 28: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: Tenderly: The Life & Times of Nat ‘King’ Cole @ Hepscott Parish Hall. 7:30pm. . £15.00., £12.00. (Early Bird advance ticket), £10.00. Off-Broadway production feat. Duane Forrest.
Tue 29: Red Kites Jazz @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller's Rest, Cockerton, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. For one week only the rehearsal night will be at the Traveller's Rest (open to the public).
Wed 30: Tenderly: The Life & Times of Nat ‘King’ Cole @ The Hearth, Horsley. 7:30pm. £15.00., £12.00. (Early Bird advance ticket), £10.00. Off-Broadway production feat. Duane Forrest.
Wed 30: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 30: New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds + Juliana Day & Manon McCoy + Helen Anahita Wilson @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. A BBC Introducing-Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.

October

Thu 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Rivkala @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 01: Hot Club de Heaton @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 01: The Scenic Route @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Alison Gill + Markrokosmos @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music (NFOJAIM).
Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Gilby & Hunter + Andy Champion @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:00pm. NFOJAIM.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. The Abbie Finn Trio augmented by Dean Stockdale (piano).
Fri 02: Alexia Gardner Trio @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 02: Zoe Rahman Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 8:00pm. NFOJAIM. SOLD OUT!

Sat 03: New Orleans Ragtime Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. Gavin Lee & co.
Sat 03: Anemone Quartet + Jeepe Zeeburg @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. NFOJAIM.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Caravan. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Struggle Buggy @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Free. Excellent blues band.
Sat 03: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. £12.50 (inc. bf). Two sets: 7:30-8:15pm & 8:45-9:30pm. ‘Swing Band Dance Night’.
Sat 03: Olie Brice Quartet + Alexander Hawkins + Harper Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:00pm. NFOJAIM.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 04: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Heugh Battery, Hartlepool. 11:00am-12 noon & 1:00-2:00pm.
Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 04: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Bill Watson (trumpet).
Sun 04: Sax Choir w. Rachel Musson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Rivkala + Ceitidh Mac + Thatcher & Knowles @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. A NFOJAIM event.
Sun 04: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free. RESCHEDULED from September 27.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £3.00.

Tuesday, March 03, 2020

Great North Big Band Jazz Festival 2020: Schools Section (Day 3) - Mar 1

(Review by Russell)

For some, day three at this year's Great North Big Band Jazz Festival dawned early. A workshop session for aspiring musicians made full use of the generous stage at Park View Community Centre and that was long before the competitive action got under way at eleven o'clock. Sunday is all about young musicians being part of a large ensemble, reading charts and, in some cases, taking a deep breath before standing up in front of a crowd of big band fans to take a solo. It promised to be quite a day!

At the appointed hour (11:00am) the splendidly named Haberdashers' Abraham Darby Senior Jazz Band (Conductor Tom Gledhill) took to the stage ready to begin the Schools Section. It's quite a commitment to make rehearsal sessions year round, it's a bigger commitment still to then travel a distance to compete at a festival in Chester le Street, County Durham, especially when you're based in Telford, Shropshire. Win, lose or draw, that's some effort! Kris Berg bases himself in Texas, leads bands (at the Montreux Jazz Festival and elsewhere) and writes charts for luminaries such as Kurt Elling, Wayne Bergeron and Delfeayo Marsalis. How fantastic that Berg's Fowl Play opened Abraham Darby's programme (featuring soloist Alyssa Lowe, tenor saxophone, one of ten females in an eleven-strong saxophone section)! Dave Volpe's arrangement of Body and Soul (Catherine Vellacott's alto sax solo) and the ubiquitous Gordon Gordon Goodwin (Crunchy Frog) rounded off a fine ensemble performance.  

Egglescliffe School Big Band (Conductor Matthew Haworth) travelled a considerably shorter distance given that the school is located in the Stockton on Tees area. One or two of Jambone's number and a current NYJO student trumpeter were in the line-up to perform a Hefti/Nestico set - Strike up the Band, Jumpin' at the Woodside, Cute, Splanky and Sweet Georgia Brown. Egglescliffe is known for developing young musicians and on this evidence the 2020 cohort is shaping up nicely. 

It had been some years since St Aidan's Swing Band (MD Vicki Elliott) last competed at the GNBBJF. On one of those previous visits the Harrogate school band walked away with the silverware - from memory an amazing performance of a (Wynton?) Marsalis chart belied their years. Would today's orchestra have anything as good in its locker? A knockout trumpet section, a programme including It Don't Mean a Thing and an unlikely Frankenstein (Edgar Broughton's big chart hit!) featuring a tremendous duel between drummers Ollie Anslow and Oscar Gray brought the house down!

Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College Big Band (Director Steve McGarvie) presented an eclectic yet familiar programme ranging from St Louis Blues to Freddie Freeloader to that man again, Gordon Goodwin (Count Bubba) and a sparkling finale featuring guitarist Archie Kidd's razor-sharp fusion solo on Jeff Jarvis' Critical Mass. A good set.

Last but by no means least, Dave Hignett's young charges rattled through half a dozen pieces. Tyne Valley Jazz Ensemble (Conductor Dave Hignett) performed with energy and commitment. A fun finale - Tequila - required audience participation with MD Hignett explaining that members of the ensemble didn't know anything about it...Tequila, that is! All together now... Tequila!

And so to the results. The stage rearranged, adjudicators Mick Donnelly and Marcus Brown took up their places alongside Kenneth Howe (Durham Bede Rotary Club) ready to be photographed with the lucky winners. Festival Director Bil Watson announced the results. The long journey had been worthwhile, the winning band, all the way from Shropshire...Haberdashers' Abraham Darby Senior Jazz Band!
             
GNBBJF 2020 - Schools Section:

Best Band: Haberdashers' Abraham Darby Senior Jazz Band

Best Soloist: Archie Kidd, guitar (Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College Big Band)

Best Section: Trumpets (St Aidan's Swing Band)

Adjudicators' Award: William Woods, drums (Haberdashers' Abraham Darby Senior Jazz Band)

Adjudicators' Award: Ollie Anslow, drums & Oscar Gray, drums (St Aidan's Swing Band) see photo.

Russell
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