Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. St Thomas & Bésame Mucho. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Side Cafe Oᴙkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Table reservations: 0191 477 3970.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. 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

Friday, July 30, 2021

Happy Birthday Charlie Christian: An organ-ized celebration - July 29

(Screenshot by Russell)
Facundo Tarella (clarinet); Fernando Montardit (guitar); Lucas Ferrari (organ); Eduardo Porfirio (drums) + Gus Lerado (piano); ? (vocals)

Yesterday, July 29, marked the birth of Charlie Christian all of 105 years ago in 1916. If the occasion escaped some in America and here in Europe, it didn't go unnoticed in Argentina. An organ-ized celebration in Buenos Aires streaming on Facebook featured a Goodman-style quartet which, later in the proceedings, would briefly be augmented by a pianist and an unannounced, off-screen vocalist. 

Tango, Maradona, Messi, that's all you know, or need to know, about Argentina, isn't it? Well, the South American nation boasts an annual jazz festival attracting tens of thousands of fans and Buenos Aires itself sustains several jazz clubs, including the Thelonious Jazz Club and the Bebop Club. It's on the bucket list...

Guitarist Fernando Montardit, a Charlie Christian man, sat to the right of Goodman clarinetist, Facundo Tarella, and for the next three plus hours didn't take a break. Perhaps Charlie Christian had similar stamina! Facebook is what it is...scheduled to begin streaming at ten o'clock (6:00pm in Buenos Aires) it was more like twenty past the hour when finally we got the audio. Lucas Ferrari (organ) and co. were ready to go. The visual element was more like looking at a still photograph, or, at best, a series of time-lapse photographs. Occasionally, only occasionally, we saw a moving image, although that didn't last too long! 

An off-screen, in-between-numbers female voice responded to online (Spanish language) comment.* As our host spoke mainly in Spanish your correspondent picked out a word or two...qué? No matter, as always, the jazz transcended any such barriers. Seven Comes Eleven, Memories of You, the 'organ-ized' quartet put in a good shift, a three hours plus good shift. A Smo-o-o-oth One purred, Stardust shimmered (drummer Eduardo Porfirio's exemplary brushwork), it was gone 1:00am (BSH time) and Señor Ferrari and our Buenos Aires friends were still going strong.
                         
* An online comment in English from Tyneside prompted the moderator to respond, in English: Ah! Mike Durham's Whitley Bay Jazz Festival...the best jazz festival in the world!
Russell
at

1 comment :

Lance said...

Ah! Charlie Christian - "The hand of God"

Friday, July 30, 2021 11:26:00 AM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive