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Bebop Spoken There

Francis Tulip: ''Music speaks louder than words''. (Jazzwise, June 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

17,550 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 514 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (June 28).

From This Moment On ...

JULY 202

Sat 12: Jazz Stage @ Mouth of the Tyne Festival. From 12 noon. Free. Vieux Carré Jazzmen (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Mississippi Dreamboats (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Stage adjacent to Tynemouth Priory.
Sat 12: Making Music Seminar: Latin American Music v. Music of Latin America @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00pm. £15.00. (£5.00. online). Jason Holcomb, Alix Shepherd & Carlos Luis Rivera.
Sat 12: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Lovaine Community Garden, North Shields. 7:00pm (doors 6:40pm). £6.00. Limited places, booking essential (via the Community Garden website). BYOF&D.
Sat 12: Hot Club du Nord @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Hall Two.
Sat 12: Sleep Suppressor @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm.
Sat 12: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle.8:00pm. Free. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 13: Jazz Stage @ Mouth of the Tyne Festival. From 11:00am. Free. Trilogy of Four (11:00am); East Coast Jazzmen (12:10pm); Delta Prophets Trio (1:20pm); House of the Black Gardenia (2:30pm); Mouth of the Tyne All Stars (3:40pm). Stage adjacent to Tynemouth Priory.
Sun 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free. ‘The Bandstand Sessions’.
Sun 13: Julie Dexter @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:30pm (doors). £20.00. ‘The Cluny Matinee Jazz Club’.
Sun 13: ’58 Jazz Collective, Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 2:00pm. Tea Dance. SOLD OUT! A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 13: Ferg Kilsby @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Kilsby (trumpet, flugelhorn); Luis Verde (alto sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Hirst (drums).
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Sloth Racket @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 14: Brass Bash @ Hardwick Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Mon 14: Brass Bash @ The Story, Mount Oswald, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.

Tue 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Sluice. Tel: 0191 237 3697. 12:30pm. ‘July Jazz Barbecue’. Tickets: £15.00.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ Hackworth Park, Shildon, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ The Witham, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Julian Lage Trio @ 1856 Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm . Lage (guitar); Jorge Roeder (double bass); Joey Barron (drums).
Tue 15: Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra @ The Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Brass Bash @ Willington Town Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Wed 16: Brass Bash @ Market Place, Spennymoor, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Brass Bash @ Trimdon Community College, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Thu 17: Brass Bash @ Blackhill & Consett Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Thu 17: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £11:55 (inc bf).

Fri 18: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Brass Bash @ Town Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Fri 18: Brass Bash @ North Terrace, Seaham, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Fri 18: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Knats: Masterclass & jam session @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 18: Rat Pack - Live in Concert @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00.
Fri 18: Front Porch Three @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. A Hoodoo Blues dance class & social. Social & Front Porch Three only from 8:30pm. £5.00.

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

Friday, September 25, 2020

EFG LONDON JAZZ FESTIVAL 2020 - FRIDAY 13 - SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER

(Press release)


The 2020 EFG London Jazz Festival was launched last night in a special online event here   

 


In July we promised a Festival that was Living in Two Worldsblending live music and digital streams in a wide-ranging programme and we are well on the way to delivering that with 100 live shows confirmed in 10 days and 50 specially created streams so far, taking place in 25 venues.   

 

'In this unprecedented year, we've managed to transform the challenges into a positive motivation. Inspired by the creative response of artists, musicians and the scene in general, we’ve worked together to make the Festival happen and can’t wait to share the buzzing music of the UK, alongside unique performances by international artists with a global audience’ (Pelin Opcin, Director of the EFG London Jazz Festival).


LIVE 

 

The Festival’s signature opening night, Jazz Voicebrings an array of wonderful singers and surprise guests at Cadogan Hall, directed by Guy Barker and band, featuring China MosesDavid McAlmontLuca Manning and Cleveland Watkisshosted by Jumoké Fashola.     

 

For a special Festival performance, producer/multi-instrumentalist Tenderlonious will lead a showcase of material from his record label, 22a at Shoreditch Town Hall with music from and collaborations between Ruby Rushton, Nick Walters, his Tubby Hayes tribute The Piccolo and more surprises, along with a DJ set from Dennis Ayler. 

 

The iconic Church of Sound returns to the festival with Nathaniel FaceyShirley Tetteh and Moses Boyd, joining up with Tomorrow’s Warriors’ young musicians, led by Gary Crosby, in celebration of Charlie Parker’s Songbook on his 100th birthday. 

 

At Kings Place there is an extensive programme of music from the heart of the UK jazz scene: Mercury-nominated quartet Dinosaur, celebrating their 10th year together, composer Matt Calvert showcasing his acoustic album TypewrittenJason Yarde and the ACOUTASTiC BOMBASTiC ensemble premiering new explorations, the intoxicating “psychedelic Arab jazz” of composer/trumpeter Yazz Ahmed, the free improvisation of  Ill Considered and award-winning saxophonist Binker Golding with material from his latest album Abstractions of Reality Past & Incredible Feathers. 

 

The Jazz Café’s new programme includes James Holden with Waclaw Zimpel, saxophonist Camilla George and the Kansas Smittys House Band.   There will be a special new collaboration between Kit Downes and Korean composer SooJin Suh at PizzaExpress Holborn and a programme featuring the likes of Henry Lowther’s Still WatersXhosa ColeNorma Winstone with Nikki Iles and Stan Sulzmann and Jeanie Barton with Tony Kofi at PizzaExpress Dean Street and The Pheasantry.   

 

British performance artist GAIKA with Azekel & Miink will present PALATIUM at Café OTO – a collaborative audio-visual performance that is a visceral investigation of inner and outer worlds and a haunting and politically pertinent exploration of the artists’ personal archive of jazz vinyl, contemporary electronic production and experimental film.  

 

This year for the first time, the Festival is creating Jazz Yoga, two special events where live audiences bring their yoga mats to experience award-winning bass player Shri Sriram playing live with yoga teacher Constanza Ruff. 

 

Special projects not to miss at the Barbican include Cassie Kinoshi’s SEED ENSEMBLE, celebrating the music of Pharoah Sanders who turns 80 this year and a new collaboration with Shabaka Hutchings and Britten Sinfonia. 

 

Other major venues, including Ronnie Scott’s, will be announcing further live programming over the next month, so we will have additional shows and surprises to reveal in the run-up to November. 

 

STREAMS 

 

The Festival is commissioning a series of exclusive streams with major international artists.  So far we have confirmed Armenian piano maestro Tigran Hamasyan, performing from a solo set ahead of his new album The Call Within, jazz bassist Linda Ohthe bass player of Pat Metheny, introducing her new band, and an exclusive concert filmed in Paris by Vincent Peirani & Emile Parisien   

 

We are also creating a series of films of British artists, including Sarathy KorwarRosie Turton and Emma-Jean Thackray at Total Refreshment Centre, and the complete programme of next month’s Between the Lines Festival, with performances of boundary-pushing music, including a night curated by Leafcutter John and showcases from Erased Tapes featuring Anne Müller and Hatis Noit, and froThe Spectacular Empire featuring Loraine JamesGLOR1A, and more. With a new partnership, these shows as well as Tenderlonious led 22a night and Gaika’s Palatiumwill be exclusively streamed on Mixcloud. 

 

Getting involved has always been an integral strand of the Festival and for 2020 we take our free Creative Engagement programme online.  Families have the chance to stream Juliet Kelly’s Jazz Kids, a musical story-telling session for children and their grown-ups. Developing professionals can upskill in one of our expert-led masterclassewith band-leader Peter Edwards, improvisation with artists Rob Luft and Elina Duni, and mental health and wellbeing with counsellor Denise Devenish and anyone can headline this year’s Festival by joining Orphy Robinson’s Virtual Jazz Club Band, a project which brings people together whilst continuing to keep our distance.  All details are on the Festival website. 

 

On Zoom, writer and broadcaster Kevin Le Gendre will present livestream sessions, ARTicle 10: Conversations in the era of Black Lives Matter (referring to Article 10 of the Human Rights Act: “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression”), where he is joined by six special guests for a series of insightful conversations on race, racism and the need for change within the music industry. These discussions will address the most burning issue of 2020 and consider the role the music industry has played and still plays in the long struggle for equality. 

 

The Festival continues its close relationship with Chicago’s ground-breaking label International Anthem, who will be presenting a new sound and movement piece by trumpeter Ben Lamar Gay, as well as a performance by free jazz and spoken word collective Irreversible Entanglements. 

 

There will also be a series of free features on new international jazz:  Vilnius Jazz featuring Improdimensija Orchestra and more to be announced, New Switzerland, featuring Julie CampicheIkarus and more and Istanbul Psychedelic, featuring special names from Turkish alternative music including Moğollar, Baba ZuLaIslandman and Ilhan Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions. 

 

For the first time, the Festival will be presenting a dedicated showcase of artists from Serious’ prestigious Take Five talent development programmeTake Five Presents will feature online performances throughout the Festival from some of the most exciting emerging artists from across the UK’s jazz and improvised music scenes Archipelago, Glasshopper, J Frisco, Jasdeep Singh Degun, Jelly Cleaver, John Pope, Noemi Nuti, Robocobra Quartet, Samuel Eagles, and Skeltr. 

 

Among everything that has happened in 2020, the loss of one of the founders of the Festival, John Cumming, has shaken us all.  To make sure he will always be remembered there will be moments in the Festival to mark his work, including a stream created by Peter Wiegold from Club Inégales 

 

BROADCASTS 

 

Many of the Festival’s concerts will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3, including the opening event Jazz Voice, live from Cadogan Hall and featuring Guy Barker and band, with star guest vocalists China MosesCleveland WatkissDavid McAlmont, and Luca Manning among others; and a special performance by cellist Abel Selaocoe and the BBC Concert Orchestra, conducted by Clark Rundell, recorded from the Royal Festival Hall.  The station will feature the Festival across their programming over the ten days and beyond, with initiatives and programmes such as J to Z, Jazz FixJazz Mixes, and gems from the Jazz Festival archive such as a 2012 Chick Corea concert and a 1995 Wayne Shorter performance. 

 

On BBC Four in November, Jazz 625 returns to celebrate the UK jazz boom with a sensational line-up featuring Sons of KemetMatthew HalsallSarathy KorwarMoses Boyd ExodusEzra CollectiveNubya Garcia and Kokoroko; while Ronnie’s: Ronnie Scott & his World-Famous Jazz Club focuses on a legend of the UK jazz scene.  BBC Four will also host the final of the BBC Young Jazz Musician competition. 

 

Jazz FM featured a three-hour aftershow last night once the festival was announced, hosted by Helen Mayhew and China Moses. 

 

Whilst so much around us has had to evolve, the EFG London Jazz Festival has had one constant this year – the support of our wonderful sponsors and funders.  Foremost in this are the Festival’s headline sponsor, EFG Private Bank, who have supported the Festival and our programming vision since 2008, and Arts Council England who have supported us since the Festival’s earliest days, and without them there would be no Festival this year.  Their support has been instrumental in facilitating our shift to a blended live and digital approach, and we look forward to continuing to work together far into the future. 

  

For a comprehensive guide to the festival updated regularly please go to our new website:  

 

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