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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

17,596 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 560 of them this year alone and, so far, 38 this month (July 13).

From This Moment On ...

JULY 2025

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Brass Bash @ Willington Town Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Wed 16: Brass Bash @ Market Place, Spennymoor, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Brass Bash @ Trimdon Community College, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Thu 17: Brass Bash @ Blackhill & Consett Park, Co. Durham. 6:00-8:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Thu 17: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £11:55 (inc bf).

Fri 18: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Brass Bash @ Town Park, Newton Aycliffe, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Fri 18: Brass Bash @ North Terrace, Seaham, Co. Durham. 6:00-9:00pm. Free. Various bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Fri 18: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Knats: Masterclass & jam session @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 18: Rat Pack - Live in Concert @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Greg Abate w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00.
Fri 18: Front Porch Three @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. A Hoodoo Blues dance class & social. Social & Front Porch Three only from 8:30pm. £5.00.

Sat 19: Streets of Brass @ Durham City. From 10:00am. Free. Various street bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Mr Wilson’s Second Liners: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 12 noon. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. SOLD OUT! A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Bollywood Brass Band @ Monument Metro Station & Haymarket Metro Station, Newcastle. 2:00pm & 3:00pm & 4:00pm (3 x 30 mins). Free. A Gem Arts Masala Festival event.
Sat 19: Diddy Sweg: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 2:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Brazen Brass Band: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 12 noon. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Party in the Park @ Wharton Park, Durham. 5:00-9:00pm. Free. Ten street brass bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sat 19: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 19: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 19: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Chopwell Community Centre. 8:00pm.

Sun 20: Streets of Brass @ Durham City. From 11:00am. Free. Various street bands. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: Always Drinking Marching Band: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 11:00am. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: New York Brass Band: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 1:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: Das Brass: BRASS Boat Cruise @ Elvet Bridge jetty (by the boat club & Tomahawk Steak), Durham City. 3:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00.; £5.00. 60 mins cruise, 2 x sets. A Durham Brass Festival event.
Sun 20: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 20: Pope/Garner/Byrne/Alderson @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 21: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 21: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 21: New Century Syncopated Seven @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 22: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm.

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, December 23, 2021

A Jazzy Christmas @ Sage Gateshead - Dec 22

It's become something of a tradition. Paul Edis invites a group of friends over to play some seasonal songs. The venue just happens to be Sage Two, that's Sage Gateshead's intimate cockpit-like space, and, here's the thing, several hundred people turn up to listen. All three tiers sold out some time ago, and with Covid-secure measures in place, everyone set about enjoying themselves. 

At eight o'clock, to a rapturous reception, Edis and company took to the stage. O Come, All Ye Faithful opened the show, and what a show it would be! Edis' hand-picked ensemble hit the ground running, our MD marshalling proceedings with his customary light touch and good humour. The first of two consecutive Jule Styne/Sammy Cahn numbers - Let it Snow - introduced the fabulous Jo Harrop. Intimate duo performance or swanky 'big do' gig, Harrop is the singer for this kind of gig. And this 'do' was somewhere in between - an intimate arena teeming with a 100% mask-wearing audience. Oh, yes, Let it Snow, an excellent arrangement featuring Matt MacKellar's infectious Big Easy drum pattern. 

Harrop momentarily departed the stage as the ensemble struck up Carol of the Bells. It isn't every day a jazz gig features a piccolo solo yet here in Gateshead we got just that. Megan Robinson set up a riff and set about improvising on it. Piccolo jazz! Cue thunderous applause. Santa Baby had to be in the set list, and it was. Excellent. A marvellous first set drew to a close with Sleigh Ride, Graham Hardy, trumpet, and Matt Anderson, tenor sax, stepping out of the horn section to bring down the metaphorical curtain. 

The interval: 'Hello' to Jo and Paul (they were out front signing 'merch'), your correspondent first in the queue at the bar, a chat with several of the usual suspects, teasing Steve T about his Christmas jumper. Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells...

Second set: No one had left, despite being subjected to Paul Edis' terrible Christmas cracker jokes. Chris Rea's Driving Home for Christmas resonates with a Tyneside audience, given that the composer is from 'up north' (Teesside). Frank Loesser's What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? found favour with all present ('Bah! Humbug! suspended momentarily), Harrop sensational, Matt Anderson having a blast. 

A solo piano piece. Joy to the World. Edis somehow incorporating the history of jazz piano into his performance, from Fats Waller stride to swing to bop by way of Oscar P, to the modernists. Cue deafening applause. Emma Fisk brought in O Tannenbaum with a few bars of Vaughan William's The Lark Ascending. Outstanding, but no surprise there, violinist Fisk is a true virtuoso. It was almost time to go, but not before a sing-a-long farewell. From 1934, Winter Wonderland. A tune for all ages, a tune for kids to big kids. Where's that Santa hat? And that was it. Not quite. A foot-stomping, cheering (not easy behind a mask!) crowd won an encore. The Christmas Song. Perfect. Same time next year? You can bet on it.                                       
Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Matt Anderson (tenor sax, soprano sax); Faye Thompson (alto sax, clarinet); Megan Robinson (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone); Emma Fisk (violin); Francis Tulip (guitar); Andy Champion (double bass); Matthew MacKellar (drums)

Set list: O Come, All Ye FaithfulLet it SnowThe Christmas WaltzWhite ChristmasRockin' Around the Christmas TreeCarol of the BellsSanta BabySleigh RideDriving Home for ChristmasO Holy NightWhat Are You Doing New Year's Eve?Joy to the WorldO TannenbaumWinter WonderlandThe Christmas Song

A Jazzy Christmas will be performed a second time at Hampstead Parish Church this evening (7:30pm, Thursday 23 December) with an all-star London-based line-up (Paul and Jo will reprise their roles). See: www.pauledis.co.ukRussell

4 comments :

JERRY said...

And the missing cracker joke was:

What do you call a group of Grandmasters boasting about their games in a hotel lobby? Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer!

Shame Paul forgot it as it would have fed beautifully into the encore!

JERRY

Lance said...

Checkmate!

EmmaFiskJazzVio said...

That one may have been censored for being too funny😂

Russell said...

Emma, you're right, it's a good one!

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