Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18699 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 573 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 11) 27

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

July

Tue 14: Vieux Carre Hot 4 @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. 12:30pm. £15.00 (reservations: 0191 237 3697). ‘July Jazz Barbecue!’
Tue 14: Crook Little Brass Bash @ Crook Community Centre. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Tue 14: Barnard Castle Little Brass Bash @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Tue 14: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Tickets from Tully’s, Rothbury. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Tue 14: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 15: Willington Big Brass Bash @ Town Park, Willington. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Wed 15: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Café Needle’s Eye, Promenade, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea NE64 6XE. 6:00pm. Free. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Wed 15: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 15: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 15: Side Café Orkestar @ The Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00 (£11.00. adv.); £12.00 concs (£8.00. concs adv.).

Thu 16: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 16: Spennymoor Big Brash Bash @ Jubilee Park, Spennymoor. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Thu 16: Coxhoe Little Brass Bash @ Village Green (Pit Wheel). 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Thu 16: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Lollo Rosso, Morpeth. 7:30pm. Free. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Thu 16: Stevie Jay Duo @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free. Julija Jacenaite & Steve Glendinning.
Thu 16: DK Harrell @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00 + bf. USA blues.
Thu 16: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 17: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 17: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 17: Seaham Big Brass Bash @ Terrace Green, Seaham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Fri 17: Newton Aycliffe Big Brass Bash @ Town Park, Newton Aycliffe. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Fri 17: Ray Stubbs R&B Allstars @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 17: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm.
Fri 17: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm. Free. Lollo Rosso, Morpeth. 8:00pm. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.

Sat 18: Streets of Brass @ Market Place, Durham City. 10:00am-4:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands.
Sat 18: Brass Boat Cruise @ Boathouse, Elvet Bridge Jetty, Durham City. Departures at 10:30am, 12 noon, 1:30pm, 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £5.00 (all prices + bf). Durham Brass Festival. Various bands.
Sat 18: Party in the Park @ Wharton Park, Durham City. 5:00-9:00pm. Free. Durham Brass Festival. Multi-bill of street brass bands. Entrance o/s Durham Railway Station (Northbound platform).
Sat 18: Zoë Gilby & Dean Stockdale @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 6:30pm.
Sat 18: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00.
Sat 18: Tyne Valley Big Band + Revolutionaires @ Pelton Community Centre. 7:00pm. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 18: Dale Storr @ The Straw Yard, The Barracks, Berwick. 7:30pm. £15.38. Solo piano.
Sat 18: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Red Lion Inn, Alnmouth. 8:30pm. Free. Lollo Rosso, Morpeth. 8:00pm. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.

Sun 19: Brass Boat Cruise @ Boathouse, Elvet Bridge Jetty, Durham City. Departures at 10:30am, 12 noon, 1:30pm, 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £5.00 (all prices + bf). Durham Brass Festival. Various bands.
Sun 19: Jacob Egglestone Trio @ The Bandstand, The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free.
Sun 19: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bishop Auckland Town hall. 2:00pm. £7.00 (inc. bf). A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 19: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 19: Michael Young Trio @ Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 19: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 19: SwanNek @ The Bandstand, The Sele, Hexham. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Nomade Swing: Dos Guitars Trio @ Twelve 06, High St., Newbiggin-by-the-Sea NE64 6DR. 3:00pm. Free. Luco Allievi, Alessandro Brizio, Mariano Gallizio. ‘A Journey Through Swing, Gypsy Jazz, Soul & Pop’.
Sun 19: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sun 19: Dale Storr: The Sounds of New Orleans @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Solo piano. POSTPONED!

Mon 20: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 20: Mejedi Owusu w. Francis Tulip Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Monday, October 19, 2020

Nigel Price Organ Trio w. Vasilis Xenopoulos @ The Globe - October 18

Nigel Price (guitar); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax); Ross Stanley (Hammond B3); Joel Barford (drums).

The groove was in the moment they hit Wet and Dry - rock solid cement. They soloed at length before going into 4's or was it 8's or was it 1024's? It didn't matter - they were digging deep and the socially distanced audience were also digging deep - and this was just the opener! Come rain or come shine it couldn't get any better than this - could it?

It could!

The evening was about Wes - Montgomery that is - and I'd like to think that the late great guitarist would have been pleased with the rearrangement of his tunes. They certainly worked for me.

Jingles, a number Wes recorded many times, was announced as a samba but, this wasn't just another samba, this was the real deal. Joel Barford kicked it off like as though there was no tomorrow - where has this guy been hiding all my life? Okay, I know, he wasn't born for most of it but he is now and it showed as he set the scene for some paint-stripping guitar, blistering tenor and some nut-cracking B3 that had Karen doing the moves (within government guidelines) as she served the socially distanced tables.

If actual dancing had been allowed then couples would surely have been having a smooch to Dreamsville before the band went into Twisted Blues - a boogaloo! I needed a reality check. Was I in downtown Philly or maybe in a bar off Central Avenue in L.A.? No, I was in Newcastle's West End - The Globe, HQ of the Jazz Co-op.

I think I'd be hard-pressed to hear anything better outside of Birdland or Ronnie's and, as it happens, these guys are playing Ronnie's this coming Thursday. Unmissable.

I could write so much more but my hands are a bit fragile after doing so much clapping! However, all is not lost, Vasi wasn't the only ace tenorman in the house. Nick Gould added his own report on Facebook which I've purloined and added as a sort of coda to a fabulous evening.

Lance.

----- 

"I didn’t realise just how much I have missed live music and how important it is to me till tonight. I made a trip to Newcastle to the Globe which is a great venue that is a co-op run by volunteers.
Since my last visit earlier in the year to play with JazzMain the venue has had a lot of work done with a new stage, upgrades to the sound system, and now gigs are streamed as well. It is great to see venues adapt and make good of the current difficulties.
It was great to hear a live gig again,
Nigel Price
 has worked very hard to arrange his current tour. The band features
Vasilis Xenopoulos
 on tenor, Ross Stanley on Hammond with 2 Leslie speakers and excellent drummer Joel Barford.
They were superb, the first tune a contrafact of Come Rain and Come Shine penned by Nigel called Wet and Dry kicked things off nicely and we were treated to an evening of fabulous jaws from one of the best jazz groups in the U.K. today.
The set was played with energy, enthusiasm and superb musicianship.
The audience loved it and all had sore hands with all the clapping by the end of the night.
They play at Ronnie's main stage next Thursday.
Great also to see some friends from the North East too. it almost felt normal."

Nick
at

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

Even if we hadn’t been starved of live music for the last 7 months this would have been a an amazing gig, I am a big fan of these guys. For me they are absolutely the pinnacle of UK Jazz.

Every member of the group a great player and soloist in their own right and working together as a team to produce fabulous music.

Every tune a winner.

Thanks to the band and the Jazz Co-op for making it happen, a memorable evening for everyone in the room.

Nick Gould

Monday, October 19, 2020 3:29:00 pm
Patti (on F/b) said...

Great photo, Debra - and what a storming hot gig this was! We have to thank you and the Globe team so much for the way you've organised the music in a Covid safe setting for us jazz lovers. xx

Monday, October 19, 2020 4:18:00 pm
Debra (on F/b) said...

Thanks Patti. That's Lance's photo not mine! There's a whole team of people that have made this possible at The Globe - it's been a pleasure to cooperate with them & see some great music x

Monday, October 19, 2020 4:21:00 pm
Lance said...

C'est la vie! Looking forward to the next one with David Gray - I've seen the set list (my lips are sealed) and it looks to be another brilliant night at the northeast home of live jazz.

Monday, October 19, 2020 4:27:00 pm

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