Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18957 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 821 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 30.) 100.

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

October.

Mon 05: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 06: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Paul Grainger (double bass).
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Murray Oak, Paul Grainger, John Bradford.
Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 06: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. First night of two.

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 07: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Northern Stage, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman stage play inspired by Nina Simone. Second night of two.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations).
Thu 08: Indigo Jazz Voices w. Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Fri 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Feat. guest Jack ‘Banjo’ Courtney (trumpet).
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Harry Christelis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Jazz Co-op-JNE co-promotion.

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Saturday Night @ the 606: Xhosa Cole & Alex Hitchcock play Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis & Johnny Griffin's Live at Mintons - June 12

Xhosa Cole, Alex Hitchcock (tenor saxes); Deschanel Gordon (piano); Joe Downard (bass); Shane Forbes (drums).

This afternoon the soccer players of Wales and Switzerland waltzed to a 1 - 1 draw. There was no waltzing at the '606' tonight - on or off the stand. 

This was a good old-fashioned tenor joust that had the protagonists going for it toe to toe. No quarter asked, no quarter given. The same rules that applied when Johnny Griffin and Eddie 'Lockjaw' Davis (more or less) adhered to when they recorded the album tonight's session was based on.

Cole, Hitchcock, Hitchcock, Cole. They didn't hold back. This was no 'After you Claude' session but a fight to the finish. Who won? Well, at half-time us streamers had to leave so only those who made it in person can answer that but, after this first set it was too close to call. 

The audience was relatively subdued - no doubt following parliamentary advice to keep their mouths shut. However, at BSH HQ there were no such restrictions in place  and, after the Pier Six work out on Well You Needn't I was up on my feet a-whoopin' and a-hollerin'. Shouting and clapping, kicking aside the dead soldiers who'd began the night at 4.7% but now lay lifeless on the floor.

Topcat Daphne wasn't amused, to her this was just another Saturday night but to me it was anything but. Hard-swinging post bop by two of today's finest, paying tribute to two of yesterday's finest - aided and most definitely abetted by as good a rhythm section as you're likely to find this side of the Planet Mars.
Lance

Light and Lovely; Well You Needn't; In Walked Bud (or was it Bouncing with Bud?); Bingo Domingo; Isfahan; Woody 'n' You.
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