Bebop Spoken There

John Donegan: ''What you take in through your ears can come out through your fingers.'' (Notes to Which Direction October, 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

19,057 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 921 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 29) 100.

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

October.

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Monday, March 07, 2022

The Great North Big Band Jazz Festival - Friday March 4

The Great North Big Band Jazz Festival (GNBBJF) is back in business! Last year's event fell victim to the pandemic, fortunately this year's celebration of all things big bands was able to go ahead as planned. Saturday and Sunday would be competition days, this Friday evening session took the form of a concert double bill featuring Musicians Unlimited and the GNBBJF's Festival Big Band. 

Mick Donnelly's Musicians Unlimited is the big band down Teesside way and the band's annual appearance here in Chester le Street guaranteed a great start to a jam-packed weekend. MD Donnelly opened the band's extensive pad to select an eclectic mix of instrumental numbers plus a few arrangements for vocalist Jan Spencelayh to take a look at. MU's sections are chock-full of big hitters: in the trumpet section we heard GNBBJF director Bill Watson in scintillating form (trumpet and flugelhorn) not least on Gordon Goodwin's Jazz Police, Mick Shoulder (electric bass) cruising on the GG chart, similarly alto saxophonist Mark Toomey. Band MD Mick Donnelly made no apology for including In the Mood in the set list, especially as it was Doc Severinsen's chart, the reeds excelling, likewise Watson and fellow trumpeter Kevin Eland. 

Jan Spencelayh could be heard loud and clear on Lullaby of Broadway and a bold rendition of Cheek to Cheek. Musicians Unlimited's regular Sunday lunchtime engagement recently came to an end. The good news is the band will be be making a one-off return to the Park Inn on Park Road in Hartlepool. Subsequent dates, perhaps with a permanent venue, will be announced in due course. The initial date for your diary is Sunday 27 March (1:00pm).

Earlier in the evening, Bill Watson conducted the GNBBJF's Festival Band. The ensemble, comprising University of Sunderland students past and present working alongside established names on the regional jazz scene including Keiran Parnaby (trombone), and, making a guest appearance, pianist Marcus Brown, hit the ground running. What a great way to announce the return of one of the jewels in the big band jazz calendar! A Foggy Day in London Town, Louie Bellson's Brush Taps (a spotlight feature for the ever-impressive drummer John Bradford), Catch As Catch Can featuring an all-female reeds section, numbers from the NYJO pad, Bobby Shew's Blue (for Blue Mitchell), and it wouldn't be a big band concert without a Sammy Nestico chart. Yes, this was mainstream big band jazz at its best! Russell
at

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