Bebop Spoken There

John Donegan: ''What you take in through your ears can come out through your fingers.'' (Notes to Which Direction October, 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

19,057 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 921 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 29) 100.

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

October.

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.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ 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: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Saturday, August 15, 2020

NJF 2020: Jazz in Lockdown (panel discussion) - August 15

What have musicians been doing in lockdown? Alyn Shipton asked three well known figures - Paul Edis, Jo Harrop and Dennis Rollins - to contribute their thoughts in a non-round table Zoom platform discussion as part of today's Newcastle Jazz Festival. From not putting petrol in the tank to not getting on a plane to St Lucia to perhaps finding a way to gig for real, our talking heads chewed the pandemic fat.


Mr Shipton wondered what each panel member had been doing during lockdown. Dennis confessed that for a few weeks he hadn't touched his trombone although latterly he had been looking to online teaching and planning ahead to tour his Velocity Trio and downsizing his Funky Funk outfit in the belief promoters coming out of lockdown won't be willing to book much more than a quartet. Jo spoke of the very real issue of home schooling kids and the difficulty (impossibility?) of being creative when the demands/needs of children in these strange times are pretty much 24/7. Paul pointed to a need to be busy, to have a routine, hence a run of twenty consecutive Friday lunchtime solo piano live streams.

All three musicians have projects on the go or in suspended animation; albums recorded, albums released (Jo Harrop and Jamie McCredie's Weathering the Storm described by one national newspaper jazz critic as 'perfect'), gigs scheduled (and likely to be rescheduled again!), the energy is there, the creativity is there. Our three contributors did express concern for young musicians and those graduating from music schools. Hustling for gigs is hard enough at the best of times, for the new kids on the block the next few weeks and months will be a test of their metal. In summary, this Newcastle Jazz Festival Zoom event gave the impression that, despite everything, the participants were optimistic about the future. It's the only way to be, isn't it?

At seven o'clock Leeds based Jasmine will be online, and, at 7:30, festival headliner Jay Phelps will close the show.  

Newcastle Jazz Festival 2020 online is free to view. If you wish to make a donation visit: www.newcastlejazzfestival.co.uk
Russell
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