Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18361 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 215 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 8 ), 25

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 12: Boomslang @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Fri 13: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm . £9.00.
Fri 13: The SH#RP Collective @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Soothsayers + Rookie Numbers @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.

Sat 14: The Too Bad Jims @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. R&B.
Sat 14: NUJO @ Venue, Newcastle University Students’ Union. Time TBC. £15.00. supporter; £10.00. standard; £5.00. student. Seated event.

Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: The Too Bad Jims @ The Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. £12.00. R&B.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Rebecca Poole @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Poole w. Dean Stockdale & Ken Marley. CANCELLED!

Mon 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Scotty Adair (drums).

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, February 21, 2021

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra live streaming from Frith St. - Feb. 21

MD Pete Long was wisecracking before the down beat. Appropriately, Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra opened with Chick Corea's Got a Match? No more to be said, RSJO launched into Freddy Gavita's arrangement of Chameleon, on which Dave O'Higgins blew the roof off!  A fast moving show brought on the first of the evening's vocalists, Mr Iain Mackenzie, to sing I Love Paris (arr. P. Long). Callum Au's arrangement of It's Alright with Me kept Mackenzie on stage, although he was in danger of being blown away by Sammy Mayne's coruscating alto sax solo!

Billy Strayhorn's 1950 arrangement of Take the 'A' Train served as a tribute to a long-time supporter of the band, Long charged pianist Robin Aspland with bringing it in, sometime Kansas Smitty's 'bone man Higham picking it up, Alex Garnett's tenor taking it out in style. More Ellington, Aspland again, on Mountain Harissa from Duke's Far East Suite (O'Higgins exceptional solo). Baritone sax Paul Nathaniel's measured riff on Hot Toddy had its usual mesmerizing effect. Simple but effective. A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square arranged by 'Britain's poshest Geordie' (Mark Armstrong), quipped Long, gave all sections the opportunity to shine. 

Please welcome to the stage, a last minute replacement for Georgina Jackson, all the way from Whitstable* Ms Louise Cookman, to sing Night and Day (arr. P. Long). And on to Vincent Youmans' Tea for Two arranged as a cha-cha by MD Long. Finally, Ed Richardson set up an unlikely finale, Stone Fox Chase (Old Grey Whistle Test theme).  

* By coincidence your reviewer was enjoying a bottle of Whitstable Bay Brewery's Pale Ale (4%).   
Russell         


Pete Long (MD, clarinet); Louise Cookman (vocals); Iain Mackenzie (vocals); Nathan Bray, George Hogg, Mark Armstrong, Freddy Gavita (trumpets); Andy Flaxman, Callum Au, Daniel Higham, Mark Frost (trombones); Adrian Revell, Sammy Mayne, Dave O'Higgins, Alex Garnett, Paul Nathaniel (saxophones); Robin Aspland (piano); Steve Pearce (double bass, bass guitar); Ed Richardson (drums) 
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1 comment :

Chris Kilsby said...

I saw the first part of this show. The first thing that struck me was the proximity of players and lack of masks (even for drummer/bass/keys/conductor). This looked like a pre-Covid session to me! By contrast the trio on KSTV were well separated and masked.

Do they have any other precautions at Ronnies - more ventilation, testing? or am I right to be alarmed? Knowing what we know about indoor transmission, and the prodigious "blowing", surely they can't afford to endanger players of the calibre of Dave O'Higgins!

Chris K

Monday, February 22, 2021 1:22:00 pm

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