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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Jazz Milestones - 1975.
Thu 20: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 20: Orange Claw Hammer + Peony @ The Globe, Newcastle.7:30pm. Orange Claw Hammer play Captain Beefheart.
Thu 20: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Featuring special guest Zoë Gilby.

Fri 21: JazzMain @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. TBC.
Fri 21: Emma Rawicz w. Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30pm-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 22: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 22: Mississippi MacDonald @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Blues.
Sat 22: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm. £16.50. SOLD OUT!
Sat 22: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mark Williams Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 23: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Mu Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: ?

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, 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

Tuesday, August 04, 2020

Book review: Jonny Dale - The Jonny Dale Experience

Liverpool drummer Jonny Dale has written his first book - The Jonny Dale Experience. Jonathan Philip Edward (aka "JPED"), born in 1949 in London, might not be a household name among jazz drummers but, nonetheless, he is a worthy subject for an autobiography. 

Having known and played with him for two years in the NW of the UK, I can assure one and all that he is a first rate professional. His beat is solid, he has an admirable stylistic range  and demonstrates a flexibility when working with a variety of bands that is remarkable.


Jonny's "experience" started in Wimbledon, growing up in a well to do family led by a patriarchal father, Philip Dale, with whom Jonny stayed  very close to throughout his life. The same went for the rest of the family of two siblings and his mother, Susan, who tragically died when Jonny was in his thirties. 

The warmth shown toward his family and close friends throughout the book gives the reader a strong sense of the magnanimous and benevolent nature of the author. He takes everyone that he encounters at face value and is deffo a glass half full kinda fella.

JPED immigrated to South Africa in the early 1970s, settling in Margate where he played with a number of bands in residencies at hotel and resorts which were pretty much the norm then. Nowadays,  those gigs, along with live music have all but disappeared.

Jonny's second wife, Simonne, a talented singer and percussionist who he met in Margate, was born and raised in Zimbabwe . They soon became engaged and married and have since produced two sons, Simon and Tim, both of whom have become fine musicians in their own right. 

The family returned to the UK in 1997 spending a few years in Sussex before moving to Liverpool in 2001. This move was prompted by an opportunity dictated by a higher calling that would also bring about Dale's return to jazz drumming. He had always maintained  jobs like managing gyms, travelling sales, and finally an executive role in an organisation called The Sweet Partnership

This post consisted of collecting coins from charity machines  throughout the NW - not a million miles from busking on the street! Happily, none of these aforementioned jobs lasted long enough to permanently sever his love, need and commitment to pursue his percussive proclivities, and since  age 65, JPED has remained a full time drummer. Thank God for that!

Dale's writing style exudes a playful freedom from the conventional rules of highbrow, academic, prose. He does not let himself capitulate to traditional syntax and punctuational standards. More of a Roads, as opposed to a Rhodes Scholar approach. His lengthy sentences are worthy of sentencing themselves, one could say. Despite this, the reader is still able to grasp the gist of his endearing  ramblings.

Currently, Jonny and Simonne Dale (known affectionally as "Jamonne" as they are inseparable in both music and day to day life) are very active on the Liverpool jazz scene Their 5-piece Latinised combo, "Sequoia" plays frequently and maintains  a residency at The Sefton Park Cricket Club. A  somewhat rustic, yet likable venue in a gentile, leafy part of South Liverpool that offers jazz on a biweekly basis.

Long live JPED and his heartwarming  account of his "experience"  as well has his rich contributions to Jazz in Liverpool.
Frank Griffith.

Available as an eBook via Amazon.

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