Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. 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: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

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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