Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18621 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 485 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 14) 37

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

June

Tue 23: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 23: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 24: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 25: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 25: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Forgotten Ones & Any Quintets.
Thu 25: Edgar Ho Trio @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free. Brilliant alto sax, piano & double bass trio. Unmissable!
Thu 25: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 26: Finn-Keeble Group @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £9:00.
Fri 26: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 26: Clark Tracey @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Newcastle Jazz Festival. £26.00. Day 1/2.

Sat 27: OUTRI @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £13.01. 1:00-1:45pm. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: House of the Black Gardenia + Magpies of Swing @ The Cumberland Arms, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sat 27: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 2:15-3:15pm. £13.01. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 3:45-4:45pm. £13.01. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2.
Sat 27: Rory Ingham @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 5:30-6:30pm. £19.51. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2. Ingham w. Dean Stockdale, Ian Paterson, Dave McKeague.
Sat 27: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 27: Laura Jurd @ Live Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £26.00. Newcastle Jazz Festival. Day 2/2. Sat 27: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary’s Church, Wooler. 3:00pm. £18.00., £6.00. A Wooler Arts Summer Concerts event. Tim Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: An Evening of Jazz @ St James’ Church, Copper Chare, Morpeth. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 from 01670 788869 or 01670 519923. Mid Northumberland Chorus (MD Robin Forbes, Emma Straughan, piano) w. jazz trio featuring Edgar Ho, Oscar Ho & Dave McKeague & special guest Emily Masser. Performance inc. Bob Chilcott’s A Little Jazz Mass + George Shearing’s Songs & Sonnets.
Sun 28: Led Bib @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £15.00., £12.00. JNE.

Mon 29: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Monday, April 05, 2021

Ten great north east jazz musicians. 8 - Ronnie Stephenson

(Photo by Lance circa 1983)
Ronnie Stephenson (1937 - 2002): Born Sunderland, he first made his mark as drummer with various bands fronted by the late Ray Chester before joining the EmCee 5 of which much has been written, not least in this series. Mike Carr, pianist/vibes player with the band paid tribute to Stephhenson's powerful drummer with a number he wrote for Let's Take Five, the band's now very collectible EP. He called the composition Stephenson's Rocket.

After moving to London he played in bands led by Ronnie Scott, Johnny Damkworth and other big names before moving on to Kurt Edelhagen's big band in Germany where he remained for most of his playing career. A drum legend. Lance.

3 comments :

brian ure said...

Thank you for the comments on my old school pal Ronnie Stephenson. He would bring his snare drum to school when he had drum lessons immediately after school. Little did we realise the heights to which his talent would take him.
I have seen many tributes to him and, because of our early friendship, I have been an avid collector of them. However none of the records of his early years make any mention of his ability as a tap dancer!! I remember him appearing at the Gaumont Cinema Children's Saturday morning picture club in Sunderland with his own folding tap board which he opened and began his performance, accompanying himself by whistling the tune. He had rythmn running through him. A great musician!
When Ron died Kenny Mathieson wrote a comprehensive obituary in the Scotsman which I would like to share with you. Although it is fairly long, it fills in a lot of gaps in most of the other records available.
Ronnie Stephenson was born on the 26th January 1937 in Sunderland, County Durham. His elder brother Billy played piano, and brother Bob also became a pianist, but Ronnie was focussed on playing drums, and, already as a teenager, played in Billy's band.He quickly became professional and worked for a while with Ray Chester's Sextet in Sunderland and later with Pat Rose, before moving down to Birmingham for a job with Cliff Deeley. He toured for almost a year with the singer Lita Roza before his army call-up in 1955. There Ron served his two years National Service in the Royal Signals Band. Upon demobilization he worked for a short time in Aberdeen with Les Thorpe before joining Don Smith's band in Luton. When Don took his band for a residency in Newcastle upon Tyne Ronnie went with him.
Ron joined the John Dankworth band in 1960, following in the footsteps of Kenny Clare, with whom he later made the sensational recordings on Drum Spectacular in 1966. After that Dankworth band folded in 1963 he went on to work with Stan Tracey's Trio. He eventually joined Jack Parnell's television orchestra, meanwhile continuing to freelance with Ronnie Scott, accompanying many international musicians in Ronnie's club, and gigs with Tubby Hayes.
He toured with singer Tom Jones in Germany, later joining the Kurt Edelhagen band in Cologne, then Paul Kuhn at Radio Free Berlin. He worked with the clarinet player Rolf Kuhn in Hamburg and played dates with the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland band. When the Berlin radio band was dissolved he played for a while in the Theater de Westens and taught drums at the University of Berlin. He also worked many times with tenor saxophonist Heinz von Hermann, together with trumpeter Rolf Ericson and the Austrian bass player Hans Rettenbacher.Ron retired, with his wife Jean, to Dundee in the 1990s. He died there on the 8th of August, 2002, aged 65.

brian ure said...

Thank you for the comments on my old school pal Ronnie Stephenson. He would bring his snare drum to school when he had drum lessons immediately after school. Little did we realise the heights to which his talent would take him.
I have seen many tributes to him and, because of our early friendship, I have been an avid collector of them. However none of the records of his early years make any mention of his ability as a tap dancer!! I remember him appearing at the Gaumont Cinema Children's Saturday morning picture club in Sunderland with his own folding tap board which he opened and began his performance, accompanying himself by whistling the tune. He had rythmn running through him. A great musician!
When Ron died Kenny Mathieson wrote a comprehensive obituary in the Scotsman some of which I would like to share with you.
Ronnie Stephenson was born on the 26th January 1937 in Sunderland, County Durham. His elder brother Billy played piano, and brother Bob also became a pianist, but Ronnie was focussed on playing drums, and, already as a teenager, played in Billy's band.He quickly became professional and worked for a while with Ray Chester's Sextet in Sunderland and later with Pat Rose, before moving down to Birmingham for a job with Cliff Deeley. He toured for almost a year with the singer Lita Roza before his army call-up in 1955. There Ron served his two years National Service in the Royal Signals Band. Upon demobilization he worked for a short time in Aberdeen with Les Thorpe before joining Don Smith's band in Luton. When Don took his band for a residency in Newcastle upon Tyne Ronnie went with him.
Ron retired, with his wife Jean, to Dundee in the 1990s. He died there on the 8th of August, 2002, aged 65.

Russell said...

The collectible EP (Columbia SEG 8153) is listed in the 2022 edition of the Rare Record Guide (it's a bi-annual publication) as having a mint condition value of £175.

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