Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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.

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Sunday Afternoon Jazz w Adrian Cox & Joe Webb streaming from Peggy's Skylight - Easter Sunday

Adrian Cox (clarinet, vocals); Joe Webb (piano)

Early morning Adrian Cox caught a flight from Inverness, Joe Webb boarded a flight from Paris. Their plan was to meet up in Nottingham in time to play a lunchtime gig at Peggy's Skylight. Over the last couple of years Cox's hugely popular 'Sunday Service' online gigs have invariably gone without a hitch, what could possibly go wrong with this Easter Day stream? Answer: Absolutely nothing!

Bésame Mucho for starters, sound and vision A-grade, the boys in top form from the off. Cox's amiable chat engaged the in-house audience, those online were, of course,  already on side. Night and Day, Ellington's A Lull at Dawn, all superb, the first set closing with one of Cox's inspirations - Jimmy Noone - and the swinging Four or Five Times.

Cox and Webb's recently released Both Sides Now album featured throughout, the second set kicking off with Beale Street Blues, Webb dazzling, Cox shouting: Yeah! Joe Webb! Jelly Roll, Bechet, Jaki Byard. Jaki Byard? Yep, pianist Joe Webb is a big fan, introducing Cox to the American pianist's work. Our duo duly played Dedicated to Bob Vatel of the Ten Gallons, Webb stretching out with some stunning stride on the house Kawai. The eponymous title of our duo's album, Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, broadened their set  list, in the process perhaps broadening the horizons of the audience, both in-person and online. 
              
Time for Tatum as Joe Webb reprised his recent Tatum tour set with a blinding Runnin' Wild. Bravo!!! Bloody hell! exclaimed Cox. Indeed. Cox himself sang a wonderfully languorous Old Fashioned Love, clarinet and piano in total harmony. Bechet's Si Tu Vois Ma Mère closed the second of two immaculate sets. Adrian Cox and Joe Webb are certain to be invited to make a return visit to Peggy's Skylight. As and when they pitch up at your local jazz venue, be sure not to miss these guys. Russell
         
First set: Bésame Mucho; Night and Day; New Orleans Bump; (I Would Do) Anything for You; A Lull at Dawn; Tiny's Exercise; Four or Five Times.

Second set: Beale Street Blues; Egyptian Fantasy; Dedicated to Bob Vatel of the Ten Gallons; Running Wild; Old Fashioned Love; Mamanita; Si Tu Vois Ma Mère.  

No comments :

Blog Archive