Bebop Spoken There

Ethan Hawke (starring as Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon): ''Larry [Lorenz] Hart would be so happy that his music and his words and his poetry are still alive.'' - The Northern Echo 27 November 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

18000 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 964 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 24).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Sat 06: Sarah Spencer’s Transatlantic Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 06: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Minor Swing. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 06: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 06: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76 (inc. bf).
Sat 06: Kaberry Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £15.00. (inc. hot buffet). ‘Christmas 1945’. Kaberry Big Band, formerly Vermont Big Band.
Sat 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ Platform 1, Bedlington. 7:30pm. £6.00. Rhythm & blues.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. Xmas Party with buffet.
Sat 06: The Jive Aces @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £22.00., £20.00.
Sat 06: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. special guest Donna Hewitt (sax, clarinet).
Sun 07: Finn-Keeble Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio + Ruth Lambert.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Jason Isaacs Big Band @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 5:15pm (4:00pm doors). £21.50 (inc. bf).
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ 3 Stories, High St. West, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Support set from Play More Jazz! course participants. Note earlier start.

Mon 08: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm

Wed 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 10: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Mike Lindup Jazz Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £26.50 (inc. bf). Lindup, Yolanda Charles (bass), John Sam (drums).
Wed 10: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00.

Thu 11: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: West Coast (cool ) / Wordsearch (cool) Cool Jazz or ‘Cold’, ‘Cool’, ‘Hot’, ‘Warm’ in the title or lyrics.
Thu 11: George Robinson @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £5.42 (inc. bf). Vienna’s Voice charity evening featuring ’15 year old singing sensation the ‘Redcar Crooner’ George Robinson’. Over 35s only.
Thu 11: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. back tapes.
Thu 11: Ransom Van @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 11: Down for the Count Swing Orchestra @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:30pm. £37.70 (inc. bf). ‘Swing into Xmas’.

Fri 12: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 12: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 12: Milne Glendinning Band @ Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £15.00. ‘Xmas Soiree’.
Fri 12: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax, soprano sax); Matthew Forster (alto sax, clarinet); Sue Ferris (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone);Emma Fisk (violin); Andy Champion (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 12: Tony Hadley: Xmas Big Band Tour 2025 @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Fri 12: Alexia Gardner @ The New Ship Inn, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. 8:00pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy, Abbie Finn.
Fri 12: Jive Aces: Swingin’ Xmas Show @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 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

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

Star UK Acts Confirmed For Return Of Cheltenham Jazz Festival Live Concerts In July (Press release)

*The renowned jazz festival returns with a series of live in-person concerts featuring Nubya Garcia, Nitin Sawhney, Penguin Café, Emma-Jean Thackray, Poppy Ajudha, Matthew Halsall and more*

 

 

Following the success of their digital event at the beginning of May, Cheltenham Jazz Festival is set to make a much-welcome return to its Gloucestershire home in July with a series of ticketed in-person concerts at Cheltenham Town Hall (government guidance permitting). 

 

Taking place across three days from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th July, the programme boasts a variety of performances from some of the leading lights of the UK jazz scene including multi-award-winning saxophonist Nubya Garcia, rising star jazz and soul singer Poppy Ajudha, and one of the most revered artists within the British electronic and fusion scene, Nitin Sawhney. Acclaimed bandleader, multi-instrumentalist and producer Emma-Jean Thackeray will bring her spiritually-minded, dancefloor-angled take on jazz to the festival on Sunday 11th July, followed by an artist whose music is rooted in Northern England but draws on global inspirations: trumpeter, producer, DJ and founder of Gondwana Records, Matthew Halsall. Closing the weekend’s festivities are Penguin Café, the celebrated modern-day incarnation of Penguin Café Orchestra, who will showcase their eclectic blend of folk, jazz, pop and chamber music influences.

 

July’s event will also feature the return of the festival’s Free Stage, which will host an array of acts in Imperial Gardens across the weekend. Highlights include one of the UK’s finest Americana bands Jaywalkers, dynamic young cellist Leo Popplewell who is joined by flautist Meera Maharaj for a specially created classical music set, twenty first century crooner Quiet Man, powerhouse eight-piece pop-funk band LATIMO, an interactive family percussion workshop from GMizz, all-female ensemble Birmingham Town Hall and Symphony Hall’s Rise Up, Cheltenham based rising stars Yeti’s Breakfast, Maisie Gaffney and Russ Poole, eclectic folk outfit Chris Roberts Band, Bermudian-British songwriter, guitarist and singer Anna Colette and Tomorrow’s Warriors rising star Sultan Stevenson. Bringing the festival atmosphere to the streets of Cheltenham, three bands: Unswung Heroes, 3D Brass and Year Of The Dog will perform roaming sets courtesy of Cheltenham BID.

 

The 2021 programme continues the Festival’s focus on championing women in jazz. One of the first to sign up to the PRS Foundation’s Keychange programme, Cheltenham Jazz Festival is leading the debate on Women in Jazz. Research conducted at the Festival in 2019 by Dr Sarah Raine from Birmingham City University revealed that there is much work to be done to transform the landscape of the music industry in giving equity to female jazz musicians. A link to Dr Raine’s full report can be found here.

 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival is part of Cheltenham Festivals, a charity known for creating world-class cultural festivals and year-round accessible talent development, outreach and education programmes. Over 225,000 visitors a year are inspired by its Literature, Science, Jazz and Music Festivals.  

 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival – July 2021 – MAIN STAGE

Saturday 10th July – 12:00 – Nubya Garcia

Saturday 10th July – 16:00 – Poppy Ajudha

Saturday 10th July – 20:00 – Nitin Sawhney

Sunday 11th July – 12:00 – Emma-Jean Thackray

Sunday 11th July – 16:00 – Matthew Halsall

Sunday 11th July – 20:00 – Penguin Café

 

 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2021 – FREE STAGE

Timings and line-up are subject to change

 

Friday July 9th 2021

 

17:15-18:00 - Jaywalkers

18:15-18:45 – Leo Popplewell and Meera Maharaj

19:00-19:45 - Quiet Man

20:00-20:45 – UnSwung Heroes

21:00-21:45 - LATIMO

 

Saturday July 10th 2021

 

11:00-11:30 - GMizz

11:45-12:05 – Birmingham Town Hall and Symphony Hall’s Rise Up 

12:20-13:05 – Yeti’s Breakfast

13:25-13:55 – Maisie Gaffney

14:15-14:55 – Chris Roberts Band

15:10-15:55 – De Fuego

16:15-17:05 – Anna Colette

17:20-18:20 – The Roaring Trowmen

18:40-19:30 – 3D Brass

19:50-20:40 – Grupo Lokito

21:00-21:50 - Elles Bailey

 

Sunday 11th July 2021

 

10:30-11:15 – Lilliputs

12:15-12:45 – Natalie Oaks (Music Works)

13:00-13:30 – Russ Poole

13:50-14:40 – Argle Bargle

15:00-16:00 – Bassists with Boobs

16:20-17:10 – Soufian Saihi & Ricardo Ne Noronha

17:30-18:15 – Sultan Stevenson

18:35-19:25 – Year of the Dog

19:45-20:30 – The ShowHawk Duo

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