Bebop Spoken There

Warne Marsh: "At some point, you have to be prepared to create—to perform. It's vital, man, if we're talking about jazz, the original jazz, the performing art. It fulfils its meaning only when you play it live in front of an audience." DownBeat January 1983.

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sat 17: Homer’s Lane + John Garner & John Pope @ St John’s Church, Riding Mill. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. Gabriele Heller’s audio play + Garner & Pope.
Sat 17: Martyn Roper @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 5:00pm. Free. Roper’s ‘One Man Blues Band’.
Sat 17: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Alexia Gardner Trio @ FIKA Art Gallery, Morpeth. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). Gardner, Alan Law & Jude Murphy.

Sun 18: Louis Louis Louis @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 2:00pm (doors). £15.00. Swing, jump jive, rhythm & blues. Fundraiser for St Oswald’s Hospice.
Sun 18: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio + Rod Sinclair.
Sun 18: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Herdman-Strong Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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

Sunday, November 01, 2020

Adrian Cox's Sunday Service Bechet Special from Toulouse Lautrec, London - Nov. 1

Adrian Cox (clarinet, vocals); Joe Webb (piano) 

Hot! Hot! Hot! These guys are great live and this afternoon's live stream came a close second to the 'real thing'. Cox, recently returned from a trip to Scandinavia, once again made good use of Toulouse Lautrec's piano with Joe Webb rattling the 88s. From Milenburg Joys to Si Tu Vois, Ma Mère, Cox proved, if proof were needed, that he is one of the clarinet greats of his generation. 
Cox and Webb ran headlong into Running Wild, the duo remarkably fluent, sheet music not required, they knew the number inside out. Cox sang, no mic, cupped hand hollerin' into the virtual void. Marvellous stuff. Today's subject - Sidney Bechet - recorded Kansas City Man Blues way back in 1923. Cox sure can play a mean blues, likewise his sparring partner Webb. The sheer enthusiasm Cox generates is infectious and both Webb and the online audience responded accordingly - pianist Webb at the top of his game, the eighty plus virtual contingent posting approving comments second-by-second.

Cox comes across as a canny bloke: casual, engaging, favouring enthusiasm over expertise when talking about Bechet's recording sessions, his contemporaries and well-documented European sojourn. Cue Claude Luter, Paris and Moulin à Café. Monty Sunshine tango-ing to Petite Fleur, a dedication to Adrian's sister produced a highlight - I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate with superb vocals - then another highlight (the Sunday Service is one big highlight) in the form of a scintillating That's a Plenty. 

Time for two more - Jazz Me Blues then, taking it down, and out, Si Tu Vois, Ma Mère. To coin a favourite Keith Nichols' phrase, 'tear arse' can be readily applied to Cox. The up tempo tune holds no fears and, when the occasion demands, balladry is well within his compass. Cox and Webb are great value, as and when they're out gigging again make a point of catching them, you won't be disappointed.        

Russell
       
Today's setlist: Milenberg Joys ; Running Wild; Kansas City Man Blues; Buddy Bolden Stomp; Moulin à Café; Petite Fleur; I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate; That's a Plenty; Jazz Me Blues; Si Tu Vois, Ma Mère   
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