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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

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.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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, December 13, 2020

Francis Tulip Quintet livestreaming from The Globe - Dec. 13

Francis Tulip (guitar); Xhosa Cole (tenor sax); Tuoyo Awala (piano); Louis Stringer (bass); Matt Holmes (drums).

(Photos courtesy of Debra Milne)

I approached with caution, was this going to be a gig of forgettable originals or bland covers? Well yes and no. We had originals and covers but, fortunately, they were neither bland nor forgettable - quite the opposite in fact.

Oh ye of little faith I remonstrated with myself. Musicians don't pick up awards such as the Jazz Performance Prize from the Birmingham Conservatoire (Tulip) or the 2018 BBC Jazz Musician of the Year as well as recently copping a Peter Whittingham (Cole) without deserving it. And, with that kind of quality out front, you need the same clout at the back.

They got it!

As always when watching a live stream from the Globe I get, what Ellington called Blues to be There. Stringer brushed those blues away with his intro to Kenny Dorham's Short Story. A nice groove and good solos segueing into drummer Holmes' Light Music. This wasn't light music at all and was probably one of the more freer parts of the evening.

Don Garcia's Giraffe, as the name suggests was quite an angular number and Cisk, a Tulip original inspired by a Maltese lager, got the adrenalin going and so it should - it's 9%vol - the tune was equally potent!

Invitation featured guitar, bass and drums followed by Trane's Straight Street and the temperature was rising. Benny Golson's Stablemates kept it there before Tulip's own The Brunswick, named after a pub in Derby and said by Tripadviser to be a jewel in the crown of the city. Certainly this tune did it no harm.

The finale aka the encore was Freddie Hubbard's Birdlike. A complex number that seemed to be a mix of fours - except they weren't fours - as all five exchanged with each other both singly and in a vaguely contrapuntal manner. If this had been a live live gig the punters would have been whooping and hollering, stamping their feet and demanding more, more, more. I certainly was although I don't suppose the band heard me (I'm not into hand-clapping emojis)  although I'm sure the neighbours did!

The Jazz Centre of The Globe? You betcha!    

Lance

Photo album.

No comments :

Blog Archive