Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Sunday, January 02, 2022

2022: a year of great jazz to come!

Future stars, established names, venues large and small, the year ahead holds great promise across the BSH region. The jazz year began bright and early on New Year's Day with the Vieux Carré Hot 4 at Spanish City and Brian Bennett's men will be there again today (Sunday, 12 noon) to kick-off their 2022 weekly residency. A week today (Jan 9) there is an opportunity to catch the new kids on the block as the Sam Toulson Quartet calls in at Jazz Co-op HQ (The Globe, Railway St, Newcastle). BSH heard alto saxophonist Sam and the Ho brothers - Edgar, piano, Oscar, bass - at the back end of last year sitting in at a Black Swan jam session. Toulson's gig is highly recommended! And on Jan 21 pianist John Law presents his Renaissance project in the imposing setting of Durham Cathedral.

February: it's non-stop jazz! Highlights...a Tenement Jazz Band double header (Sat 5) at Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club (12:30pm) & Prohibition Bar, Newcastle (8:00pm), NYJO playing the music of Amy Winehouse visits Sunderland's Fire Station (Thursday 10), Alan Barnes returns to Darlington's Opus 4 Jazz Club (Friday 11), Gosforth Civic Theatre presents Byron Wallen (Friday 18) and rounding off the month, there's a big one...Michael Lamb's magnificent Strictly Smokin' Big Band will be playing the music of Duke Ellington alongside special guest Pete Long at Sage Gateshead (Sat 26). Top tip, it's almost sold out, book here.

And to March: it's non-stop jazz! A favourite event of this, or any, year takes place over the weekend of Fri 4 - Sun 6. The Great North Big Band Jazz Festival is a feast of big band jazz and it never fails to impress. It's competitive, no question abut it, but it's all about supporting the many bands who travel a distance (some closer to home than others!) to take part in a marvellous occasion. From the youngest musicians (some not yet in their teens) to senior, established outfits, the event at Park View Community Centre in Chester le Street is unmissable! Mid-month, three concerts on successive evenings look like the pick of the rest - Ronnie Scott's All Stars appear at Middlesbrough Town Hall (Thursday 17), the Binker Golding Quartet can be heard at Sage Gateshead (Fri 18) and on Saturday 19 Will Todd's Passion Music featuring Voices of Hope and members of the Strictly Smokin' Big Band will be performed in All Saints, Church, Newcastle. 

That's the first quarter of 2022, there is much more to come.
Russell

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