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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + Open Mic Night participants.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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, March 29, 2021

Ten north east greats. 1 - Jack Brymer

Now that The Tens have started to take off, I thought I'd post one remembering those north east musicians who have left us, albeit not before leaving their mark on the national/international scene. However, by the time I got to number 6 it soon became apparent that this was going to be twice as long as War and Peace or half as long as a Steve T comment (only joking Steve!) So, I decided instead to post just one per day and this is the first one.

Jack Brymer (1915 - 2003). Born in South Shields, Brymer is best remembered as probably the leading classical clarinetist of his generation. However, he was also a jazzman at heart and occasionally on stage. 

I first heard him on a demo record put out by Boosey and Hawkes promoting their, at the time, revolutionary plastic Regent clarinet in which, apart from some Mozart, he rattles off a few tasty Benny Goodman licks.  

In his autobiography, Where I Sit, he recalls dining at the Hi-Hat Club in Boston and meeting Wardell Gray, Buddy de Franco and other famous jazzmen - he grabbed their autographs on a club menu - that must be a collector's item if it is still in existence today. 

In New Orleans he jammed with Alphonse Picou and Papa Celestin and the book also has a photo of him blowing alongside Hank Shaw, Don Rendell, Ike Isaacs and John Dankworth. On top of all this there are many memories of him working with Sir Thomas Beecham.

The boy done good! Lance

1 comment :

Cormac Loane said...

Around about 1972, I visited the King's Hall at Newcastle University to hear Jack Brymer giving a beautiful performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, accompanied by the New Tyneside Orchestra. During the opening tutti section of the first movement - before the clarinet's first entry - Jack could be seen giving little waves to friends of his as he recognised them in the audience. It all felt very affable and informal - more like a Geordie jazz gig than a symphony orchestra concert!

A couple of years later, when I was a student at Goldsmiths' College, London, I was nearly lucky enough to jam alongside Jack. The Goldsmiths' Music Society invited him to be the guest speaker at their annual dinner (partly because Goldsmiths' was where Jack himself had trained as a teacher in the 1930s). After we'd finished eating, Jack told endless, hilarious anecdotes about his world tours with André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra, etc. And then, whilst I was playing a set with the college jazz band to round off the evening, he kindly walked over to compliment us on our playing - we invited him to join in, but sadly he had left his clarinet at home!

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