Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Sat 11: Spanish City Rollers @ Community Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival, Front Street, Tynemouth. 12 noon. Free.
Sat 11: Jazz Stage: Mouth of the Tyne Festival (o/s Tynemouth Priory), Tynemouth. Free. Vieux Carré Hot 4 (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Castillo Nuevo Trio (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Day 1/2.
Sat 11: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man + Adam Millington @ St John’s Chapel, Town Hall, Weardale DL13 1QF. 5:00pm (doors). £16.26., £10.84., £8.67., £5.42 (under 18).
Sat 11: Milne Glendinning Band @ Langley Tracks, Langley-on-Tyne. 5:30pm.
Sat 11: Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:30pm.
Sat 11: Karberry Big Band @ Forest Hall Social Club. 7:00pm. £7.00.
Sat 11: Ray Quinn: The King of Swing @ The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.

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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