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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 2025

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Hopper-Watson Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £10.00. + £1.00. bf.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 10: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Soloists, Orchestras & Hot Fives.
Thu 10: Side Café Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 11: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00. A Bishop Auckland Jazz promotion. New venue (second Friday in the month)!
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Beehive, Earsdon NE25 0SZ. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Fiona Finden Jazz Express @ Flash House Brewery, North Shields NE30 1DS. 8:00pm. Free.

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.

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 21, 2020

Paul Edis: Time & Place LJF live stream - Nov. 20

Paul Edis (piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Tony Kofi (tenor sax); Adam King (double bass); Pete Adam Hill (drums) 

(Screenshots courtesy of Jerry)

BSH planned to attend this Hampstead Jazz Club performance only to be thwarted by Lockdown 2.0. Fortunately this year's EFG London Jazz Festival was able to deploy its not inconsiderable resources to make most, if not all, events available online. Paul Edis regularly works with singer Jo Harrop and now that our exiled Geordie pianist is based in London he was able to extend an invitation to his friend, and occasional musical collaborator, Tony Kofi to join him and Jo in revisiting Time and Place
The lights were low as Edis took to HJC's snug stage alongside bassist Adam King and drummer Pete Adam Hill. Harrop stood in front of the trio with saxophonist Kofi seemingly socially-distanced in the wings. The project is, to  a degree, self-explanatory...themes of time and place. Twelve compositions - a mixture of standards and originals - were given a flawless reading. Edis and Harrop obviously familiar with the set list, less so, Kofi, King and Hill, and it is to their credit that they fully contributed to a successful evening. 

And so to the theme...Time After Time (music Jule Styne, lyrics Sammy Cahn). Those who have heard Jo Harrop sing knew that this first number was likely to be good. It was better than good, more like fabulous. The first of two Vernon Duke classics -  Autumn in New York - suggested the musicians on the stand were fully immersed in the music, King and Hill reading the charts, likewise the man in the wings, tenor saxophonist Tony Kofi. 

Three Edis compositions followed, one after the other...Madeira (a hair-raising tale of a mountainous bus journey!), Embrace the Silence (first heard on Tyneside with Edis directing Sage Gateshead's youth jazz ensemble Jambone) and, with a nod to Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Long Way Round. BSH is familiar with the above songs and one thing is for sure, familiarity doesn't breed contempt. In fact, they seem to get better with each hearing! 

Harrop sang beautifully on Michel Legrand's Once Upon a Summertime and then it was Edis' turn to impress on Vernon Duke's April in Paris. If any of the London jazz crowd didn't know about Paul Edis, they do now. Brilliant! 

Edis' Breathing (from a Darlington Jazz Festival commissioned suite) heard more from Tony Kofi in what sounded like waltz time. At this juncture it became apparent that brevity was the watchword - excellent musicianship all round, executed with commendable concision. Jo Harrop, the lockdown lyricist, emailed Edis some words to see what he could come up with. Twenty four hours later, the duo had a new tune to perform to an audience. An audience...what's one of those? Ah, yes, people gathering together to share in the magical experience of live performance. Well, it almost happened here at Hampstead Jazz Club, almost, but not quite. Next best thing, via the medium of the live stream, we, the audience, heard What If? We look forward to being present the next time Edis and Harrop perform it!

We were nearing the end of this evening's concert. Edis' Rome Wasn't Built in a Day (Edis leaving the singing to Harrop, Harrop leaving the piano playing to Edis), another Edis-Harrop lockdown composition If I Knew performed as a duo, then to close, Edis' Wise Words reunited the quintet. Gospel-infused, concise, all had been said and done. An excellent set, we look forward to hearing it again when we're part of a capacity audience. Next year, believe it.
Russell        

1 comment :

JERRY said...

If anyone missed this excellent gig, it still seems to be available here:

https://www.facebook.com/HJCJazzClub/videos/2129518460505144

Well worth a look and listen.

JERRY

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