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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18069 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 390 of them this year alone and, so far, 68 this month (May 222).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:15pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bywell Hall, Stocksfield. 1:30pm. Northumberland County Show.
Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm.
Sat 24: Dean Stockdale Quartet + Mingus Sings @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Stockdale (piano); Tim Williams (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums) + Mingus Sings: Sara Oschlag (vocals); Alan Barnes (reeds); Tim Lapthorn (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); Clark Tracey (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sat 24: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 24: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sat 24: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 24: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 25: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Spanish City Plaza (outdoor stage). 11:30am & 1:00pm. Free. A Whitley Bay Carnival event.
Sun 25: Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion: Bandstand Sessions @ The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free. A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 1:30pm. Free.
Sun 25: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Catriona Bourne Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Bourne (harp), Francis Tulip (guitar), James Owston (double bass), Joe Bainbridge (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Struggle Buggy @ The Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 25: Joe Steels Group + Norma Winstone (vocals); Nikki Iles (piano); Mike Walker (guitar); Steve Watts (double bass). 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Steels (guitar); Ferg Kilsby (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Susans (double bass); John Hirst (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 25: Xhosa Cole/Neil Charles/Mark Sanders @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A JNE promotion. Note: Xhosa Cole replaces Nicole Mitchell.

Mon 26: Catriona Bourne Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 26: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 27: Bold Big Band @ Newcastle Arts Centre, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £12.00. & £10.00.
Tue 27: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Front St., Rothbury NE65 7UT.7:30pm. £12.00.; £10.00. adv. from Tully’s (opp. venue).

Wed 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 28: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 28: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 29: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: That’s the Blues, Dad.
Thu 29: Nova.sol + Mikoudi @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 29: Front Porch Three @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Americana, blues etc.

p>Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 30: Rivkala @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Middleton & Tonbridge Village Hall. 7:30pm.

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

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