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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:15pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bywell Hall, Stocksfield. 1:30pm. Northumberland County Show.
Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm.
Sat 24: Dean Stockdale Quartet + Mingus Sings @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Stockdale (piano); Tim Williams (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums) + Mingus Sings: Sara Oschlag (vocals); Alan Barnes (reeds); Tim Lapthorn (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); Clark Tracey (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sat 24: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 24: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sat 24: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 24: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 25: Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion: Bandstand Sessions @ The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free. A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Spanish City Plaza (outdoor stage). 1:00pm. Free. A Whitley Bay Carnival event.
Sun 25: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Catriona Bourne Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Bourne (harp), Francis Tulip (guitar), James Owston (double bass), Joe Bainbridge (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Struggle Buggy @ The Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 25: Joe Steels Group + Norma Winstone (vocals); Nikki Iles (piano); Mike Walker (guitar); Steve Watts (double bass). 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Steels (guitar); Ferg Kilsby (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Susans (double bass); John Hirst (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 25: Xhosa Cole/Neil Charles/Mark Sanders @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A JNE promotion. Note: Xhosa Cole replaces Nicole Mitchell.

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

Monday, October 19, 2020

Q & A with Dave Weisser & Jude Murphy - Part 2 of 3.

BSH: Dave, you are probably best known these days for the Take it to the Bridge sessions which, prior to these strange times, ran for many years at a variety of venues before becoming established at The Globe.

Dave: Yes, it started off when we came back from working abroad.  Terry Ellis and Bazz Ascroft were also at loose ends at the time, and I got them together at the Beamish Mary pub in No Place, County Durham.  That ran as a very popular jam session for several years before a change of pub management meant we were looking for other venues.  A short stint at the Bridge led to a really long residency at Jesmond’s Bluebell, then we moved on to the Egypt Cottage, the Tyne Bar, and eventually, The Chillingham Arms in Heaton.  Only when the Chilli was refurbishing did we find our way to the Globe, where we’re very happy.

BSH: As the recent interview with Matt Mackellar proved you have been a great one for nurturing young talent. Not in an academic way but giving them the chance to play in the real world of the jam session or, as you prefer, the jazz workshop. Apart from Matt, would you like to name any others who found their feet at, so to speak, your feet?

Dave: Well, there’s another very talented young drummer Matt Fairhurst, and Mike Papapavlou on guitar, and there was the late and much-lamented Darren Grainger on sax.  More recently we’ve had a couple of young international players showing up, Salvatore di Novo on clarinet and Fabio Vernuccio on bass.  And that’s not to mention our fantastic long term regulars, who may not count as “young talent” as such, but hey!  Of course we also had lots of people passing through who were already well established jazz players and who are very much local names, like Alan Law, Paul Gowland, Pete Gilligan, the list is endless really.

BSH: Dave, do you remember the Take it to the Bridge session at the Tanners' Arms when Claude Werner turned up and sat-in? It was like: Wow! Who's this?!  And again at the Egypt Cottage when David Carnegie walked in. It must be a thrill when such great players, new to the scene, seek out your workshop session. 

Dave: Yes, it’s always a privilege and it emphasises how the session is open to all ability and experience levels.

BSH: For as long as I can remember, Barrie Ascroft was on keyboards or bass guitar. His passing must have been a tremendous blow to you both.

Dave: We miss him so much.  He wrote a tune with a title that summed him up perfectly, Mr Rascal! We go back a very long way, to the late 1970s, when I went to see a very highly rated band called Technique at a club in Gateshead.  Little did I know I’d be flat sharing with the keyboard player a few years later and that we’d work together on a cruise.

Jude: Dave and Barrie were like the odd couple!

Bazz was such a huge loss.  Yes, he could be irascible, but that was all part of the hugely talented package – he was equally brilliant on keyboards and bass, and of course his writing was superb.  I personally have so much to thank him for.  He taught me lots about reading chord charts, and tolerated my first faltering steps at walking bass with the comment “It wasn’t TOO painful”, he even used to record regular editions of Coronation Street for me any time we were away and he was home!

BSH: Jude, correct me if I’m wrong, but you seemed to be a relatively late comer to the workshops. I remember you turning up at The Chilli one night and blowing everyone off the stand with your flute playing. Where had you been hiding? Next thing we knew you were blowing alto, playing bass and singing better than most of the so-called jazz singers!

Jude: When we came back from working the hotels, it was to have our daughter.  For a long time, apart from the occasional paid restaurant gig, I was primarily Jess’s mam, while simultaneously studying for an MA and PhD in History and starting out on a career in academia and adult ed.  So the only jams I got to were maybe one a year, when I could sort out babysitting!  But I did get to the Sage’s first jazz workshops, where I met Stu and Fiona Finden, and now we’re all in Budtet together.

BSH: You’ve also been playing in a few different bands. Soznak is one that springs to mind tell us about them.

Jude: I feel so privileged to be part of the Newcastle institution that is Soznak.  Paul Miskin, the band leader, has done so much through the decades to keep street arts vibrant, and nothing really compares with playing a tune and watching everyone around the Monument starting to move along with the beat.  This works with disco classics, reggae, jazz standards, out and out rockers, we just all love playing together and I think it’s infectious.  Somehow it helps you forget the sometimes sub-zero temperatures. Favourite moments: when we had a huge protest group in Anonymous masks boogying on down to One Step Beyond; and when I shared a mic with Lulu (yes, THE Lulu) on Steve Miller’s The Joker. 

BSH: Dave, over the years you’ve switched from trumpet to cornet – any particular reason? Plus you seem to have an amazing ear for a tune and I’ve never known you to forget a lyric

Dave: I found the cornet was easier to blow.  I’ve also played flugelhorn and love the tone of it, but the cornet is my long term favourite.  Ironic, because it’s by far my cheapest instrument.  I picked it up for £32 from the Quayside Market. It didn’t even have a case.  It was Terry Lambert, from the Barracudas, who spotted it and negotiated a discount for me because he was a stallholder at the time.

I don’t know where my memory for lyrics comes from.  Years of listening, I suppose.

(Continued tomorrow)

Part 1

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