Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Dan Walsh: LIVE Concerts at Home, Newcastle University - July 16

Dan Walsh (banjo, guitar, vocals)

WARNING! BANJO PLAYERS DO NOT CLICK ON THIS LINK BECAUSE YOU WILL HOY* YOUR BANJO IN THE TYNE (OR NEAREST RIVER)

During the pandemic LIVE in King's Hall concert performances have taken the form of online LIVE Concerts at Home. Today's seventh and penultimate Newcastle University YouTube term time concert presented British banjo virtuoso Dan Walsh in a solo performance spanning some forty five minutes.

Clawhammer banjo specialist Dan Walsh played a hugely entertaining set of tunes mainly on banjo with one blues number on guitar which had a tangential link to the jazz world. Bella Fleck's Big Country got the show under way and what a show it would turn out to be! The Light of Day, the first of several Walsh originals, Plan B, a set of tunes ('jigs', said Walsh),  yes, the man with a nice line in self-deprecation demonstrated his undoubted virtuosity. 

A visit to India inspired a fusion piece - The Whiplash Reel - played on banjo yet sounding sitar-like. Tremendous! This week's King's Hall Concert at Home performer switched to guitar to play Robben Ford's Up the Line. * Jigs, reels, blues and bluegrass, it appeared nothing was beyond Walsh. 

Still a Town (banjo and vocals) referenced Walsh's home town of Stafford. Many other references came easily to the easy-going Walsh; the Coen Brothers, re-runs of Tops of the Pops, gigging in care homes and his time studying on the folk degree course at Newcastle University. Walsh recalled fondly a regular Tuesday night folk session in a Newcastle city centre pub - that'll be the Haymarket on Percy Street, Dan. And with that, a set, or pair, of tunes - Tuesday Night Session - closed a marvellous lockdown session courtesy of Newcastle University.       

* Hoy = to throw.

* It's likely that Dan is unaware that in the 1980s Robben Ford performed at the Newcastle Jazz Festival at Northern Stage (then the Playhouse) just around the corner from the Haymarket pub and but a stone's throw from King's Hall, Armstrong Building (see photo).  
Russell 
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