Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. 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

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Szczecin Jazz presents the first European jazz festival of 2021

(Press release)

Launching 25 February and running through to the 4th of March, Szczecin Jazz will host Europe’s first hybrid festival of the year. Over the course of 7 days, each night one act will grace a stage in Szczecin, Northwestern Poland's largest city, performing in front of an online and in-person audience. 

Leading up to the festival, Szczecin Jazz and Jazz in Europe are partnering to offer an exclusive behind the scenes look with a series of vlogs and interviews hosted by Dutch jazz promoter and media director Arlette Hovinga. In five episodes, airing on Jazz in Europe’s website each night at 20:00 CET, Arlette will explore the dynamics of show production, and of course, the excitement of an upcoming set. The series kicks off on Monday, February 22. 

In this Vlog series, audiences from across the globe are introduced to the artists and production crew of Europe’s very first jazz festival of the year. With music lovers worldwide pining for open fields, clubs and wristbands to return, Szczecin Jazz aims to bring that festival feeling back to all those who have missed it so much. Featuring appearances by festival founder Sylwester Ostrowski and Alexander Beets (NL) to name just a few, Arlette takes a close look at what happens before artists can actually hit the stage. How to set the stage for streaming, and why is that important? Is hospitality for artists really just about yellow M&Ms? And from the artist’s perspective, what do they look forward to now that they can finally perform in front of an audience again? Musicians and crew chime in on these questions and more. 

Szczecin Jazz has always been based on the idea that ‘Jazz comes to you’. Accessible and affordable tickets, an interesting lineup and a combination of upcoming, established, local and international artists. This year’s hybrid edition is yet another creative effort to keep giving jazz fans worldwide that thrill of a great concert, and to keep promoting Szczecin Jazz as well as the Polish scene as a whole. 

So how do you put on one show a day for a week in multiple venues across a city with an international lineup in the middle of a global pandemic? Tune in and let Szczecin Jazz show you. After all: the show must go on, wherever we are. 

For more information, check out the announcement on Jazz in Europe, contact Arlette at arlette@musicrunner.nl or check out the Szczecin Jazz Facebook page


No comments :

Blog Archive