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HOWAY THE LADS!

Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 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

17873 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 194 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (March 14).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Sat 15: Hot Teapots @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 15: Lagos to Longbenton + Belladonna @ Whitley Bay Big Social, Whitley Road, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Afrobeat/jazz fusion + soul/funk/R&B
Sat 15: Creakin’ Bones @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Is This Jazz? @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk. Performances by Mu Quintet, Jinjé, A Brief Utopia, John Pope & Co + André Marmot (author of Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion) in conversation + DJ sets ‘til 3:00am. ‘A Festival of New Jazz’.
Sat 15: Vintage Explosion @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 15: One Night Standards @ The White Room, Stanley. 8:00pm. £8.67 (inc. bf). Note - previously advertised Salty Dogs cancelled.
Sat 15: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blues guitar.

Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: Pearl Blossoms @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime.
Sun 16: Hot 8 Brass Band @ Wylam Brewery. 7:30pm. ‘Big Tuba Tour’.
Sun 16: ARQ @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 16: Air4ce @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (8:00pm doors). £12.00.; £10.00. Tom Atkinson’s all-star band (line-up inc. Lindsay Hannon & Sue Ferris).
Sun 16: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Jamie Toms Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Laurence Harrison, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.
Tue 18: Phil Bancroft’s Beautiful Storm @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20 & £11.00.. A JNE-Gem Arts co-promotion.

Wed 19: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 19: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 19: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 20: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Nicknames.
Thu 20: Terri Green Experience @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.90.
Thu 20: Lindsay Hannon Trio @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Hannon’s ‘Tom Waits for No Man’ set.
Thu 20: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 21: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 21: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 21: Giles Strong Quartet @ 1719, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Fri 21: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Featuring special guest Martin Litton (piano).

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

Sunday, December 26, 2021

Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City - Boxing Day

Jim McBriarty (clarinet, alto sax, vocals); David Gray (trombone, vocals); Brian Bennett (banjo); Paul Grainger (string bass)

A wet 'n' wild Boxing Day afternoon, seahorses rearing their heads out on the North Sea, St Mary's Lighthouse barely visible in the distance, just the kind of day to call into Spanish City to catch the Vieux Carré Hot 4, on parade as usual on a Sunday. A warming Americano, an English Breakfast Tea, a slice of coffee and walnut cake, the first of three sets opened with Jim McBriarty (clarinet, alto sax, vocals) singing I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby


Boaters and bow ties, seated for the most part, Messrs McBriarty and Gray (David, trombone) shared the vocal duties, Messrs Bennett (Brian, banjo) and Grainger (Paul, string bass), keepers of the rhythm. MD Bennett revealed PG was up and about at 5:30 this morning digging himself out of his North Yorks Moors snowed-in location. Dedicated to the Vieux Carré cause, our man made it to Whitley Bay in good time for the noon start. Saluting his efforts, the Hot 4, with 'bone man Gray singing, played Let it Snow!

This being the season to be imbibing, McBriarty sang of The Alcoholic Blues, Mr McB confessing he had one or two yesterday! Didn't we all?! Last night, the VCH4's latest recruit, David Gray, watched the Morecambe and Wise 'lost tape' television show. Didn't we all? Suitably impressed with Kenny Ball's trombone player, John Bennett, DG wanted to sing Someday You'll be Sorry. The ever-obliging Brian (no relation) Bennett gave him the go ahead. One gets the impression Showtime is getting a taste for the material! 

The Hot 4's Spanish City residency sees them move from location to location. A first set in Valerie's Tearoom, then onto Trenchers' Restaurant and finally, the first floor Champagne Bar with its panoramic views across the North Sea. A short-ish second set accompanying diners tucking into award-winning fish and chips, then the band moved into the Champagne Bar. A bottle of Doom Bar rather than a glass of champers, a share of a cheese scone, yes, this is the good life, alright! Trombonist Gray wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to Christmas, singing Winter Wonderland. Jingle bells, jingle bells. It'll soon be Christmas (2022). 

Leaden skies, a wholly dreich day, the Vieux Carré were just about ready to pack up for the day, but not before DG sang one more (Hesitating Blues) and Jim McBriarty rounded off an entertaining session singing a good old good one, from 1919, Alice Blue Gown. The Vieux Carré Hot 4 will be back next Sunday (Jan 2) and, before then, they'll be at Spanish City for a New Year's Day session. A bracing walk along the seafront, arriving at the landmark Whitley Bay building in time for a noon start, call it a good start to 2022. Russell      

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