Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 821 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 30.) 100.

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.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 08: Indigo Jazz Voices w. Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Feat. guest Jack ‘Banjo’ Courtney (trumpet).
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Harry Christelis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Jazz Co-op-JNE co-promotion.

Mon 12: Jack Pearce Quintet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 12: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Julija Jacenaite (vocals).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 14: NW FRQNC @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. Selina Albright, Gianni Vancini.
Wed 14: Jacob Egglestone Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Tuesday, February 02, 2021

James Pearson's Rhapsody in Light Blue live streaming from Ronnie Scott's - Feb. 1

James Pearson (piano); Jeremy Brown (double bass); Matt Skelton (drums); Pete Long (alto sax, clarinet); Callum Au (trombone, euphonium); James 'JT' Turner (tuned percussion); Alicja Smietana (violin). 

(Screenshots by Ken Drew)

James Pearson presented a live stream celebration of Rhapsody in Blue. Ronnie Scott's MD introduced an all-star chamber jazz ensemble to perform a selection of compositions from George Gershwin's earliest days on Tin Pan Alley to Porgy and Bess to his An American in Paris Days and the focus of this Monday evening concert, Rhapsody in Blue. 

The house trio is an attraction in itself, the addition of two of Ronnie's regulars (Pete Long, reeds, Callum Au, brass) and a couple of specialists (James 'JT' Turner, tuned percussion, Alicja Smietana, violin) assisted Pearson in creating something akin to the full orchestral voices available to Gershwin (and Paul Whiteman) almost a century ago. 

Swanee from 1919, a vehicle for star singer Al Jolson, made composer G. Gershwin, not yet twenty one, a small fortune. MD Pearson has yet to pen a chart-topper but he sure can play them! Our pianist's easy going commentary helped join the dots of Gershwin's rise and rise. Social distancing measures obliged the trio to take to the stage (joined from time to time by classical violin virtuoso Smietana) with Long (playing some hot Goodman-style clarinet) and Au (a one-man brass section) on the floor of the room, percussionist Turner to one side. 

A Porgy and Bess medley (inc. It Ain't Necessarily So, There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York), a Tubby Hayes' arrangement of Love Walked In (what's the betting Tubbs played it, with a modern jazz line-up to die for, in this very room?) featured Smietana and Long. Is Pete Long underrated? Does he have the same high profile as some of his contemporaries?*

Pearson in Oscar P mode on The Man I Love from the Broadway version of An American in Paris, Blue Lullaby (Prelude no.2) as a Pearson-Smietana duo feature, and on to the finale. Twenty minutes or thereabouts, Pearson directing the ensemble, the one we (some of us?) had been waiting for - Rhapsody in Blue, or as our MD preferred, Rhapsody in Light Blue.   

* Pete Long will be working with the Strictly Smokin' Big Band on an Ellington concert programme at Sage Gateshead next year (February 26, 2022). Book now at: www.sagegateshead.com.                 
Russell
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