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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17755 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 76 of them this year alone and, so far, 1 this month (Feb.1).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sat 08: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 08: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 08: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 08: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 7:30pm. £15.00. at the door; £14.35. (inc £0.35 bf) online, in advance.
Sat 08: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’.
Sat 08: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra event. All welcome.

Sun 09: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ The Forum, Billingham. 3:00pm.
Sun 09: The New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 09: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 09: Tom Remon & Mark Williams @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 09: Rod Oughton’s Tomorrow’s New Quartet with Ben van Helder @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Deschanel Gordon.
Sun 09: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 10: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 11: Steve Summers Quintet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: Student Performances @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 4:00pm. Free. Inc. Olly Styles (tenor sax).
Thu 13: MOBO Awards Fringe 2025: Artist Showcase @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (ticketed). Line-up inc. Hannabiell & Midnight Blue.
Thu 13: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

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

Monday, December 14, 2020

McCreadie tops international chart

(Press release)

Scottish pianist and recent visitor to the Globe in Newcastle (see photo courtesy of Debra Milne), Fergus McCreadie has scored an early hit with his trio’s second album more than a month before it is officially released.

A video featuring the album’s title track, Cairn has reached No 1 in the influential Amazon Fresh Jazz playlist ahead of the popular Canadian singer Laila Biali and Miami-based jazz-electronica duo Twyn.

The playlist is compiled by Amazon’s music experts and has previously been topped by artists including Branford Marsalis and the Hot 8 Brass Band.

“It’s amazing news,” says McCreadie whose debut album, Turas won both the Parliamentary Jazz Awards Album of the Year and Best Album at the Scottish Jazz Awards in 2019. Turas also reached the cross-genre Scottish Album of the Year shortlist, a rare feat for a jazz release.

“When we recorded the new album back in January, I felt it was a progression from the first one. It felt more mature. We’d been touring a lot and I thought that showed in the way we worked more closely together," he says. "There was just a slight worry that, because Turas was so well received, people might listen to the new one and say it wasn’t as good. But the response so far has been really, really positive.”

Observers including Jez Nelson and Chris Philips of Jazz FM have already tipped Cairn to be one of the most significant UK jazz releases of 2021. The album is also the pianist's first recording for the highly respected Edition Records label, McCreadie having self-released Turas while still a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

McCreadie, who added the Best Instrumentalist title at the Scottish Jazz Awards in October this year to his achievements, has had several high-profile gigs postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic. His trio, with David Bowden (bass) and Stephen Henderson (drums), was due to appear at Rochester Jazz Festival in New York in June and at Love Supreme in July.

However, the group, which played its own headline gig at Ronnie Scott’s International Piano Trio Festival in 2019, has already recorded a video for the prestigious Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, which is being held online in January.

“Everything was going well until the first lockdown caused live music to stop,” says McCreadie. “But musicians all over the world are in the same situation. So it’s fantastic to be part of a major event like Celtic Connections with its world-wide audience. And with the new album due on January 29, it would be good to think we can pick up the momentum we created before the pandemic.” 

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