Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18219 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 73 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 24), 73

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

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.
Fri 30: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 30: Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Feat. Bill Bruford.
Fri 30: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 30: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Northern Edge Coffee, Silver St., Berwick. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00 + £1.00. bf (www.wegottickets.com). Coulthurst (trumpet); Joel Stedman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums).

Sat 31: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 31: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet + guest Bill Watson (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. adv. Gospel/soul.
Sun 01: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sun 01: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker @ the Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

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

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Album review: David Sills Double Guitar Quintet - Natural Lines

David Sills (tenor sax/alto flute); Larry Koonse, Mike Scott (guitar); Blake White (bass); Tim Pleasant (drums).

This one's been hanging around for a couple of months. Every time it gets close to the top of my to play list something sneaks in from left field and pushes it down the pecking order. This may not be so sad an event as the pandemic or the outgoing President's antics but it runs them close - I've ordered my sack cloth and ashes from Amazon (special Black Friday discount).

However, now's the time to make amends for the error of my ways ...

An absolute cracker! The blurb describes Sills as a meeting of Stan Getz and Joe Henderson  which is just about right. Getz's cool detached sound and Henderson's gritty attack merge as one.

My initial reserve I think came from seeing two guitars in the line-up imagining it as being rather muddy water to wade in.

Wrong!

The guitars are empathetic. Socially and musically distanced enough to avoid tripping over each other. As one of them is Larry Koonse I should have known it would be okay - his name is far from unknown on BSH. White is new to me but if Koonse gave him the thumbs up then that's good enough for me! The unison and the contrapuntal passages with sax and guitar are quite amazing 

Apart from sax, Sills is equally delightful on alto flute. A crisp, pure sound on Quiet is the Star.  On Nardis there are moments when he takes it to the extreme - purity disappears although sanity returns! Bass and drums are equally up there to make this as good as any straight ahead jazz you're likely to hear. Just had a thought, if jazz isn't straight ahead jazz is it still jazz?

Tomorrow this goes onto the car stereo and it will take something extra special to replace it. But, hang on, if this is playing in the Chev, how am I going to concentrate on the oncoming traffic and the bends in the road?

Highly recommended for non-drivers.

Usual suspects.

Lance

Minor Mode; Sync or Swim; Sonny's Side; Quiet is the Star; Lover Man; Foggy Daze; Mellow Stone; Nardis; Jones'  Tones; All the Little Things; Outside Corner; Interplay.

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