Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Friday, November 27, 2020

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra live streaming from Frith Street - Nov. 26

A second superb big band in four days live streaming from Ronnie's. Monday evening it was Matt Roberts' BigISH Band, this evening the 'house orchestra' showed what it could do, then some! Directed by wise-cracking MD Pete Long, the Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra blazed a trail - excellent ensemble work with killer solo contributions from across all sections. 
Hotshot trumpeter Freddy Gavita set the standard for his fellow soloists on Dave O'Higgins' Rack and Ruin. At its conclusion, MD Long exclaimed: Hot Tomato!  Gavita featured again on Social Call (Alice Grace sang the number at a recent Prohibition Bar live stream gig) as did 'bone men Callum Au and Dan Higham and, topping off Gigi Gryce's eternally popular number, Sam 'Sammy' Mayne stepped up to deliver the first of several paint-stripping alto sax solos. Hot tomato? You bet!

Scanning the sections, it looked like a who's who of the London jazz scene; the trumpets all first call, the in-demand Mr Au in the 'bones, heavyweights Alex Garnett and Dave O'Higgins playing tenor, the aforementioned Mayne on alto, Robin Aspland at the Yamaha grand, the brilliant Ed Richardson behind the traps, and, for good measure, a brace of top class big band vocalists, Ms Georgia Jackson and Mr Iain MacKenzie.

A few bars of  C Jam Blues brought Georgina Jackson to the stage to sing a knockout version of I Told Ya I Love Ya, Now Get Out (comp. Lou Carter, Herb Ellis, Johhny Frigo). Anything June Christy and Anita O'Day could do, Ms Jackson can do too. What's more, our singer is one helluva trumpet player! Talking of trumpet players...Mark Armstrong (Jazz Professor,  Royal College of Music, Artist Director, NYJO) blew the roof off on this one and he made it look so effortless, Long mischievously describing Armstrong as Britain's 'poshest Geordie'! 

Ms Jackson sang and blew on Fever, Sam Mayne blew on Joe Lippman's big band arrangement of What is This Thing Called Love? for Charlie Parker, and Armstrong and Aspland starred on Steve Pierce's arrangement of Herbie Hancock's Wiggle Waggle. 

The band's other vocalist, Iain MacKenzie, joined the party in time to close out the show with two or three numbers including a swinging In the Still of the Night. MD Long suggested the online audience might like to buy the boys a drink by way of donating a few pennies. The evening had indeed been one hot tomato!    
Russell    

Pete Long (MD); Nathan Bray, George Hogg; Freddy Gavita, Mark Armstrong (trumpets); Andy Flaxman, Callum Au, Dan Higham, Mark Frost (trombones); Adrian Revell, Sam Mayne, Dave O'Higgins, Alex Garnett, Paul Nathaniel (saxophones); Robin Aspland (piano); Steve Pierce (bass); Ed Richardson (drums); Iain MacKenzie (vocals); Georgina Jackson (vocals, trumpet). 
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