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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 12:30-2:15pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Bywell Hall, Stocksfield. 1:30pm. Northumberland County Show.
Sat 24: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 24: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm.
Sat 24: Dean Stockdale Quartet + Mingus Sings @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Stockdale (piano); Tim Williams (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums) + Mingus Sings: Sara Oschlag (vocals); Alan Barnes (reeds); Tim Lapthorn (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); Clark Tracey (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sat 24: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 24: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sat 24: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £3.00. + bf.
Sat 24: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 25: Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion: Bandstand Sessions @ The Sele, Hexham. 12 noon. Free. A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Spanish City Plaza (outdoor stage). 1:00pm. Free. A Whitley Bay Carnival event.
Sun 25: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Catriona Bourne Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Bourne (harp), Francis Tulip (guitar), James Owston (double bass), Joe Bainbridge (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 25: Struggle Buggy @ The Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 25: Joe Steels Group + Norma Winstone (vocals); Nikki Iles (piano); Mike Walker (guitar); Steve Watts (double bass). 7:00pm. Admission: see website: www.queenshall.co.uk. Steels (guitar); Ferg Kilsby (trumpet, flugelhorn); Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Susans (double bass); John Hirst (drums). A Northumberland Jazz Festival event.
Sun 25: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 25: Xhosa Cole/Neil Charles/Mark Sanders @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A JNE promotion. Note: Xhosa Cole replaces Nicole Mitchell.

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

Tuesday, March 08, 2022

TJ Johnson @ Darlington New Orleans Club - March 5

TJ Johnson (piano, vocals); Alex Clarke (alto sax, tenor sax); Curtis Volp (guitar); Ed Harrison (double bass); Jack Cotterill (drums)

Saturday March 5 was a homecoming for jazz at St Augustine's, after the last two years. With Darlington bathed in early March sunshine, over 70 excited jazz fans queued up to pay their entrance fee.

T J Johnson is one of the UK's most popular jazz and blues musicians. He's been an entertainer on piano and vocals since he was 16 years old, when he was discovered by Pete Cotterill, drummer on the north west jazz scene (and Jack Cotterill's grandfather!), and joined the legendary Max Collie's Rhythm Aces in 1986, touring extensively across the UK, Europe and beyond. 

Alex Clarke is an amazing young talent on clarinet and saxes, and a 2020 BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year finalist. Alex will be well known to BSH readers, with recent appearances at the Lit and Phil, plus the Salute to Humphrey Lyttelton show at Newcastle's Black Swan venue. Ed Harrison is a fine young bass player, with technique across all jazz styles - he's played with our very own Dean Stockdale. Jack Cotterill is based in the Potteries, and another young talent on the UK jazz scene. It's not surprising that he started on the drums when he was a toddler, with dad and grandfather both drumming aces. Curtis Volp is another youngster, a busy multi instrumentalist specialising in guitar and banjo, from London. He's a recent graduate from the renowned Guildhall School of Music, has made festival appearances in Holland and France, and released to wide acclaim a duets CD with reeds specialist Michael McQuaid.

The room was buzzing with anticipation as the band took to the stage. Ray Sams, organiser of the Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club gigs, welcomed us all back - and we were off. We were treated to two 50 minute sets of highly entertaining jazz, blues and country. T J started out as a young folk and country music singer, before jazz took over - but he still loves to sing those old numbers about heartache and lost love. Several of the numbers were requests from fans in the audience - T J and his bands are hugely popular with the Darlington crowd. We got classics from Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, sung engagingly by T J at the Korg keyboard, with super Alex on sax, and rhythmic support from Ed, Jack and Curtis. T J loves to sing the blues too, and we got a swinging take on the Jimmy Witherspoon classic When the Lights Go Out. This really gave Alex and the rhythm section a chance to rock, and the audience loved it. Poor Butterfly closed a highly entertaining first set - first published in 1916, this was a feature for Alex, and she played it beautifully.

Ray's Raffle is a fixture at these Darlington gigs. Your BSH correspondent always buys a couple of strips, in the faint hope of reward. The stars must have been aligned on this occasion, as my number was the first one pulled out of the hat! My companion had the second ticket too - how's that for a coincidence! Anyway, after this exciting interlude, we were ready for another 50 minutes of TJ. We started with a trip to New Orleans, with Bourbon Street Parade - and rocking second line drumming from Jack Cotterill. Then it was a real, eclectic mix of country, blues, and jazz classics - Willie Nelson, followed by Lester Leaps In and Body And Soul (two fine features for Alex) and a gorgeous take on You Turned The Tables On Me. If you've ever wondered what happened in the Black Mountains, T J told us the sorry, mean tale of Black Mountain Blues - as originally recorded by Bessie Smith in 1930.

The next session at Darlington New Orleans Club is on Saturday April 2: The New Century Ragtime Orchestra, performing rags, hot dance numbers from the 1920s and early swing from the 1930s. Patti

See www.darlingtonjazz.co.uk for more details.

Set list: My Old Kentucky HomeOn the Road AgainSongs from the Jazz CountryWhen the Lights Go OutCurse of an Aching HeartHe'll Have to GoPoor ButterflyA Man with the BluesWithout a SongRed WingBourbon Street ParadeYou Do Something to MeRambling FeverBlueberry HillLester Leaps InYou Turned the Tables On MeBody and SoulBlack Mountain BluesAngel Flying Too Close to the GroundIn a MellotoneRoll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.

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