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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

17985(and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 306 of them this year alone and, so far, 62 this month (April 26).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: International Jazz Day @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £16.00.; £14.00. adv.. Feat. Guido Spannocchi, John Pope & Steve Hanley + Take it to the Bridge participants + SH#RP Collective with Lindsay Hannon - open rehearsal.

MAY 2025

Thu 01: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Member’s Contribution.
Thu 01: Alabaster de Plume @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 01: Living in Shadows + OUTRI @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: The Shayo Experiment @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Shayo Oshodi & Liam Oliver.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (piano); Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Mark Hawkins (drums); Adrian Beadnell (bass).

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Seaburn. 4:30-6:15pm. Free.
Fri 02: Nauta @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:00pm. £7.50. A ‘Nauta’s House’ gig featuring Nauta & guests Shayo Oshodi & David Gray.
Fri 02: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 02: Dom Pipkin @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Solo piano.
Fri 02: Abbie Finn Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00. + bf.

Sat 03: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Summer Samba Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 03: Struggle Buggy @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 03: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Postmodern Jukebox @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Sat 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:30pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Spilt Milk @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Sun 04: Rivkala @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 04: Boys of Brass @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Ben Crosland Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 06: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval. 12:30pm. £14.00. Tel: 0191 237 3697. ‘Victory in Europe Afternoon Tea’ (VE Day 80th anniversary).
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.
Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 06: FILM: Whiplash @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 8:15pm.

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, October 12, 2021

The Stuart Fowler Quintet: Blue Mitchell's The Thing to Do + jam session @ Central Bar, Gateshead - Oct. 11

Stuart Fowler Quintet: Stuart Fowler (trumpet); Jamie Toms (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums)

Another jam session, a Monday evening at that! Would people turn out? Only one way to find out, head to Central Bar at the Gateshead end of the High Level Bridge for a half past seven start. Arriving in good time to order a pint of a more than acceptable porter, a nod to some of the musicians in the downstairs bar, let's take a look upstairs...

A fiver admission (this was a concert plus jam session affair), a few folk had already taken their seats in the dimly lit room. Advertised as a 7:30 start, trumpeter Stuart Fowler's hard bop quintet took to the stage right on time to play Blue Mitchell's 1964 Blue Note album The Thing to Do in its entirety. In the tradition of Blue Note recordings of the time, Stuart and co opened up all guns blazing on Funcii Mama with a  succession of blistering solos - Stuart, Jamie Toms, Alan Law. Wow! More, please! And that's exactly what we got with a rip-roaring take on the album's title track, The Thing to Do

The calibre of Stuart's band mates suggested it would be a good session. Wrong...this was a session to die for! Jimmy Heath's Mona's Mood temporarily took it down, giving the boys in the engine room - Mick Shoulder and John Bradford - the opportunity to catch their breath. Joe Henderson's Stop Lightly upped the tempo once more, the soloists shooting from the hip - Stuart as Blue Michell, Jamie recalling Junior Cook. To conclude a brilliant set, the quintet went out on Chick Corea's Chick's Tune. Well, that was one helluva session, well worth the fiver admission! 

Jam session: the house band + Abbie Finn (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Martin Williams (tenor sax); Michael Lamb (trumpet)

The format for this welcome addition to the Tyneside jazz scene is to play an in concert set followed by an all-comers jam session. The first part of the equation exceeded expectations, would the jam session to follow be something akin to 'after the lord mayor's show'? Go on, have a guess! 

Following a half hour interval the house band returned to kick off the jam session. Yet more superb playing on the jam session staple What is This Thing Called Love? Two of the brightest stars on the north east jazz scene - drummer Abbie Finn and tenor saxophonist Harry Keeble - were in the house. They're always around, making themselves known, and in the process, making connections. Abbie and Harry were first to throw their hats into the ring. Harry called Beatrice then Impressions. We know Harry as a fine tenor player. Here at Central Bar he threatened to blow the place apart. Who could/would dare to follow him? In the shadows (this was proper jazz club lighting!) stood another tenor player. Up stepped the man. Within a few bars it was a case of WOW! WOW! WOW! Who the bleep, bleep, bleep is that?! Harry came by: Harry, who's that? Harry: I'll find out, he's a f***ing monster! Harry returned: He's Martin Williams, lead tenor in the BBC Big Band! Ah, that explains it! 

Picture the (dimly lit) scene...Stuart, Jamie, Harry and Martin trading killer hard bop solos. Quite simply, this was impossibly good. And, a bonus, Strictly Smokin' Big Band MD Michael Lamb joined the party blowing fearsome bop trumpet. Superb! In a Mellotone, all blowing, and to close a memorable evening, the man who put together the evening's session, Stuart Fowler, called: Blues in F. A jam session, going out on a blues, what a night! 

Next month's gig plus jam session is scheduled for Monday 8 November. Keep checking Bebop Spoken Here for details/confirmation of the date. It's one night you won't want to miss! Russell

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