Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''I believe we are living in a historically embarrassing moment in American history.'' - Downbeat December 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

18061 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 1025 of them this year alone and, so far, 39 this month (Dec. 14).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Fri 19: Fraser Urquhart @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT! .
Fri 19: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free..
Fri 19: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free..
Fri 19: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00..
Fri 19: Castillo Nuevo @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:00pm. Free. .
Fri 19: Alexia Gardner @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy..
Fri 19: Paul Skerritt @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes. .
Fri 19: Giles Strong Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club..
Fri 19: Creakin’ Bones & the Xmas Dinners @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £13.01 (inc. bf)..
Fri 19: Mark Toomey Quintet @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 20: Jazz Attack @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 11:00am. Free.
Sat 20: Alexia Gardner @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy. SOLD OUT!
Sat 20: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Sat 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: Hoodoo Blues @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:15pm (doors). £14.25, £11.55. Dance class, social dancing, live music & Xmas Party. Live music from 9:00pm - Ruth Lambert, Giles Strong, Ian Paterson & John Bradford (jazz and blues).
Sat 20: John Pope Quintet @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 7:30-8:30pm. £7.70 (inc. bf). Album recording session.

Sun 21: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. ‘Xmas Swingalong’. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ o2 City Hall, Newcastle. 6:00pm. £35.80., £33.25., £31.00.
Sun 21: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Live music.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:30pm. Free.

Mon 22: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 23: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Alexia Gardner @ The Townhouse, Bridge St., Morpeth. 1:30-4:30pm. ‘The A Capella Sessions’. Gardner, Paula Gardner, Alexia Hope Gardner Diamany.
Wed 24: Paul Skerritt @ Mambo Wine & Dine, South Shields. 1:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Thu 25: Alexia Gardner @ The Townhouse, Bridge St., Morpeth. 1:30-4:00pm. ‘All About the Bass Sessions’. Alexia Gardner, Paula Gardner, Jude Murphy.

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, June 23, 2020

Tango Jazz Quartet Live From Argentina - This Sunday (June 28) @ the Globe

(Press release)
On Sunday 28 June at 8pm we’re delighted to be able to bring you an exclusive concert by the world-famous Tango Jazz Quartet, which we will stream live to you all the way from Argentina through Facebook and YouTube. You can watch the gig again on either platform at any time.
Tango Jazz Quartet have played all over the world, including twice at The Globe. They were due to play there again this July but the tour has been cancelled. Instead we have arranged this special livestream.



So that the musicians can get paid, we ask you to pay a small ‘entrance fee’, which we recommend should be £5 per person. If you are able to pay a bit more this will be really welcome at this time when gig income for musicians has completely stopped and is unlikely to return in the very near future.
TO ATTEND THE GIG PLEASE DO THE FOLLOWING:
1. Make a donation via the following link.

Donate what you can afford, £5 per person is the suggested minimum. Please do so as early as possible, as a rush of requests just before the gig may result in some people missing the start.
2. When we have received notification of your donation we will send you an email with instructions on how to view the livestream on both Facebook and YouTube. Please note that this is not an automated process. Our volunteers may not respond immediately. Also remember that our message will go to the email account associated with your payment which may not use be the one you usually use.
3. We recommend that you access and save the Facebook and/or YouTube links as soon as you receive our instructions. On Sunday 28 June 'doors open' at 7.45pm to give you time to check your set up, get comfortable and chat with other members of the audience.
ABOUT TANGO JAZZ QUARTET
Tango Jazz Quartet from Argentina, mixes the melodic and rhythmic patterns of Tango with the harmonies and improvisation of Jazz. This new approach to Tango and Jazz has received an enthusiastic reaction both in Argentina as well as internationally. The music of Tango Jazz Quartet goes from the traditional tango to the music of Astor Piazzola without ever abandoning the territory of jazz.
With 23 international tours performed and more than 30 countries visited, Tango Jazz Quartet performed in the most prestigious venues around the world such as San José Summer Jazz Festival, San José California, Shanghai Jazz Festival, Nisville International Jazz, Festival, Serbia; Tango & Jazz Festival, Tomsk, Russia, Hong Kong Jazz Festival, Joy of Jazz Festival, Johannesburg; Sunset-Sunside, Paris; Porgy & Bess, Vienna, The Music Village, Brussels; Snug Harbor, New Orleans, BFlat, Berlin, among many more.
Saxophonist and clarinetist Gustavo Firmenich, leader of TJQ recreated with this band the dancing evenings that were common in the golden era of the tango in Buenos Aires, where Tango and Jazz lived together although playing separately. Tango Jazz Quartet proposed a fusion of how much both songs had in common and adding something distinctive of the jazz that the tango lacked: Improvisation.
TJQ MEMBERS:
Martín Rao de Vita ,on bass
Horacio Acosta ,on piano
Mauricio Pasculli ,on drums
Gustavo Firmenich ,on tenor sax & clarinet

PRESS QUOTES:
“I was quite amazed at just how great a groove this was! The band could be swinging, rocking, funking, jazzing or whatever, the tango rhythm was embedded in it all. That was the charm of this unique band. Rarely does the tempo remain constant with mood swings a-plenty! These “senors” are tension building maestros.”Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here
“Tango Jazz Quartet, from Argentina. A foursome that demonstrates how tango and its variants support a music culture more than they offer just an excuse to take the floor with risqué intent, the TJQ tour the world like missionaries.” Nigel Jarret, Wales Arts Review

No comments :

Blog Archive