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Bebop Spoken There

Francis Tulip: ''Music speaks louder than words''. (Jazzwise, June 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

17,550 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 514 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (June 28).

From This Moment On ...

JULY 2025

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Hopper-Watson Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £10.00. + £1.00. bf.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 10: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Soloists, Orchestras & Hot Fives.
Thu 10: Side Café Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 11: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00. A Bishop Auckland Jazz promotion. New venue (second Friday in the month)!
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Beehive, Earsdon NE25 0SZ. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Fiona Finden Jazz Express @ Flash House Brewery, North Shields NE30 1DS. 8:00pm. Free.

Sat 12: Jazz Stage @ Mouth of the Tyne Festival. From 12 noon. Free. Vieux Carré Jazzmen (12 noon); Rendezvous Jazz (1:00pm); Mississippi Dreamboats (2:00pm); Classic Swing (3:00pm); Abbie Finn Trio (4:00pm). Stage adjacent to Tynemouth Priory.
Sat 12: Making Music Seminar: Latin American Music v. Music of Latin America @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00pm. £15.00. (£5.00. online). Jason Holcomb, Alix Shepherd & Carlos Luis Rivera.
Sat 12: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 12: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Lovaine Community Garden, North Shields. 7:00pm (doors 6:40pm). £6.00. Limited places, booking essential (via the Community Garden website). BYOF&D.
Sat 12: Hot Club du Nord @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Hall Two.
Sat 12: Sleep Suppressor @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm.
Sat 12: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle.8:00pm. Free. ‘Swing Jazz Guitar’. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 13: Jazz Stage @ Mouth of the Tyne Festival. From 11:00am. Free. Trilogy of Four (11:00am); East Coast Jazzmen (12:10pm); Delta Prophets Trio (1:20pm); House of the Black Gardenia (2:30pm); Mouth of the Tyne All Stars (3:40pm). Stage adjacent to Tynemouth Priory.
Sun 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free. ‘The Bandstand Sessions’.
Sun 13: Julie Dexter @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:30pm (doors). £20.00. ‘The Cluny Matinee Jazz Club’.
Sun 13: ’58 Jazz Collective, Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 2:00pm. Tea Dance. SOLD OUT! A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 13: Ferg Kilsby @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Kilsby (trumpet, flugelhorn); Luis Verde (alto sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Hirst (drums).
Sun 13: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Sloth Racket @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 14: Brass Bash @ Hardwick Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Mon 14: Brass Bash @ The Story, Mount Oswald, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.

Tue 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Sluice. Tel: 0191 237 3697. 12:30pm. ‘July Jazz Barbecue’. Tickets: £15.00.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ Hackworth Park, Shildon, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Brass Bash @ The Witham, Barnard Castle, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Tue 15: Julian Lage Trio @ 1856 Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm . Lage (guitar); Jorge Roeder (double bass); Joey Barron (drums).
Tue 15: Jools Holland’s Rhythm & Blues Orchestra @ The Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.

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

Thursday, October 28, 2021

The UK’s only jazz industry conference confirms heavyweight list of expert speakers for November event in London

(Press release)

‘A New Perspective’ is set to take place online and in-person at the SouCelebrated musician and educator Orphy Robinson MBE, award-winning journalist Kevin Le Gendre, music industry changemaker Paulette Long OBE and Europe Jazz Network president Wim Wabbes to appear at the 2021 JPN Conferencethbank Centre in London

The Jazz Promotion Network (JPN), the only UK and Ireland-wide network of jazz industry professionals has confirmed that the former Blue Note artist and award-winning educator Orphy Robinson MBE, journalist and author Kevin Le Gendre and Europe Jazz Network president Wim Wabbes will appear at its annual conference this November. 

Titled ‘A New Perspective’, the conference will take place online and in-person on the 19th and 20th November in association with the EJG London Jazz Festival. With the insight of experts from across the jazz sector and wider music industry, the conference will explore topics such as climate change, the post-Covid economy, streaming services, pathways into the music sector and the many complex levels of diversity in jazz. 

Featuring industry roundtables, keynote speeches, artist showcases and networking opportunities, ‘A New Perspective’ is aimed at those working in the jazz industry as well as other creative professionals looking to gain a stronger understanding of the burgeoning sector. 

The event will kick off with an online-only programme on Friday 19th November followed by an in-person event at the Southbank Centre in London on the 20th which will be live-streamed for remote attendees. 

Multi-instrumentalist, composer and educator Orphy Robinson has been an integral part of the UK jazz scene for over 40 years, rising to prominence in the mid-1980s as an original member of the trailblazing musical collective, the Jazz Warriors.

Robinson went on to record five critically acclaimed albums during the 1990s on Blue Note Records, making him one of the first and only British musicians to be signed to the iconic jazz label.

Kevin Le Gendre is a journalist, author and broadcaster specialising in black music. He’s the deputy editor of Echoes Magazine and has contributed to the likes of Jazzwise, The Guardian, The Independent, Music Week and BBC Radio 3’s J to Z. Le Gendre has also written two critically acclaimed books on the history of black music. 

Wim Wabbes is the Artistic Director of Handelbeurs Concert Hall and a climate change activist who founded Take The Green Train, a Europe Jazz Network initiative that addresses environmental issues facing the arts and cultural sector. His Friday keynote will explore the importance of international collaboration and how the jazz sector can respond to the growing threat of climate change.  

The programme will also feature speakers and facilitators from the wider music sector, including Natalie South-Law from the pioneering disability-led charity Attitude is Everything, Ian Smith, an expert in international touring post-Brexit and Paulette Long OBE, former board director for both the Music Publishers Association and PRS for Music. 

Along with being a founding member of the Alliance for Diversity in Music & Media, Long is also the current deputy chair of the UK Music Diversity Task Force and co-chair of the BPI Equality and Justice Advisory Group. 

The JPN conference will conclude with two artist showcases from Take Five, an artist development scheme from the sector-leading live music production company, Serious. Presented as part of EFG London Jazz Festival, the concerts will feature new and emerging talent such as Romarna Campbell, J Frisco and John Pope. 

JPN Vice-Chair, Ros Rigby commented: “This year’s conference will be a hybrid of in-person and online events, enabling us to connect UK-wide while also providing an exciting chance to come face-to-face for the first time in almost two years. 

“We’ve all missed the opportunity to be with peers and share experiences during one of the most difficult periods that our sector has faced. This conference is all about coming back together and embracing the challenges ahead as we eagerly look towards the future.”

The conference will also include board elections as part of its annual AGM with four positions open for applications. JPN is urging jazz professionals from across the UK and Ireland to stand for the opportunity to shape the future direction of JPN. 

Tickets for ‘A New Perspective’ are on sale now and are priced at £55 for full access or £20 for access to all online events. Current members of JPN are eligible for a free conference pass. Under 30s and musicians are eligible for reduced tickets priced at £30 for full access and £10 for online access. 

Tickets are available from Eventbrite.

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