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

Sat 20: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tynedale Beer Festival, Corbridge. 5:00-6:00pm.
Sat 20: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 20: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Trinity Church, Gosforth, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. NCRO w. guests Dean Stockdale & Nick Ward.

Sun 21: From Lagos to Longbenton: Unity in the Community @ Sunderland Minster. From 1:30pm. Free. A multi-bill Unity in the Community event, inc. From Lagos to Longbenton.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio w. Graham Hardy.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 22: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

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.

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Jazz on a Summer's Day* in Jarrow - August 28.

(Photos by Russell)
Brian Bennett (banjo); Jim McBriarty (clarinet, tenor sax, vocals); Mick Hill (trumpet, vocals); Phil Rutherford (sousaphone).

The West Park in Jarrow is quite a magnificent setting. Lovingly cared for flowerbeds, swings and other attractions for kids all combine to make this the perfect setting for an idyllic sunny afternoon,

The icing on the cake for those present who are partial to a slice of New Orleans' jazz was the presence of the Vieux Carré Hot Four who played a couple of sets that, hopefully, brought some of the younger listeners to realise that music - and jazz - has been going for a long long time. Maybe it began when Adam serenaded Eve with the original version of Scrapple From the Apple - who knows?

Whatever, even without a drummer, there were a few gals today who shook it all about in time to the rhythm!

I'd heard the full VCJ Orchestra at the Crescent Club a few days earlier and, despite the open air setting which is normally anathema acoustic wise, the sound in the park was 100% superior. 

That was until the batteries ran out on the wireless mics!

Nevertheless, the band's two sets were very enjoyable and, hopefully, next time, more of our local trad fans will turn up. I did make a note of the tunes played on a till receipt from Home Bargains which, unfortunately, was gone with the wind.

Earlier, down in deepest Jarrow outside the Albion Gin and Ale House, former miner's leader Arthur Scargill displayed his powers of oratory to a, mainly, adoring crowd. It was impressive. Agree or disagree, he's  a man never to be disregarded and still has the charisma. 

A day to remember although it did occur to me that the two events could have been coordinated.  Lance.

*Jazz on a Summer's Day - the film of the Newport Jazz Festival that created such a strong impression when it hit the big screen back in 1959 is being shown at Newcastle's Everyman Cinema on Bank Holiday Monday (Aug 30) at 2:30pm. There's an additional - previously unseen - 20 minutes of footage that is only available to Everyman cinema goers - strikes me as a better deal than lying on the beach!

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