Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,061 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 925 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 30) 104.

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

October.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ 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: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Fri 06: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 1/3.
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: Jazz Night: Bridget Metcalfe @ Saltburn House Hotel. From 6:00pm. Tickets: £40.00 (inc. a two-course meal & glass of Prosecco). Tel: 01287 658977.

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Album review: Ashton Smith Octet - Further Afield

Ashton Smith (trumpet, flugelhorn, compositions); James Romaine (alto sax); Michael Anning (tenor sax); David Sear (trombone); Francis Tulip (guitar); Will Markham (piano); James Owston (bass); Nathan Jones (drums).

The quality that emerges from Birmingham Conservatoire was very much in evidence last night at Kansas Smitty's when former student and BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year Xhosa Cole blew up a Force 9 on both flute and tenor.

That the high standard has been maintained is evident in this download by the Ashton Smith Octet. Francis Tulip is well known in the northeast and Will Markham has also played gigs up here. The rest are relatively unknown quantities - until now that is!

Leader, trumpet player, composer, arranger, Smith based his themes around places he'd visited such as Niagara Falls, Greece, Germany, Belgium and Portugal - a well-travelled young man. 

Powerful, complex scores that reveal the depth of his harmonic knowledge whilst leaving plenty space for the soloists to emerge from the ensemble with all guns blazing.

The Falls (Niagara): Tulip is the first to be heard setting the scene for solos from Smith and Anning. I'm enjoying this and we've only just begun!

Island of the Knights (Greece): Piano, trombone, guitar and drums all solo at length.

A Town Called Aalen (Germany): Luscious alto from Romaine, nice bass from Owston.

The Grand Place (Belgium): A post bop work out over rhythm changes. Sears first up on trombone. Lovely modern sound. Some Coltranic tenor from Anning. He may not actually sound like Trane but to my ears that's the direction he's either heading in or coming from. Solos and exchanges from and between Tulip and Markham round off my favourite track (not that there's a bad one) on the album.

Sunset at Vilamoura (Portugal): A relaxing finale. Romaine's alto and Smith's flugel allow the sun to set in lyrical fashion.

As is becoming more and more the norm these days the album is only available to download but, at £4 (or more if you're feeling flush) for 53 minutes on Bandcamp it's a bargain.

Lance
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