Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18219 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 73 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 24), 73

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

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.
Fri 30: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 30: Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Feat. Bill Bruford.
Fri 30: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 30: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Northern Edge Coffee, Silver St., Berwick. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00 + £1.00. bf (www.wegottickets.com). Coulthurst (trumpet); Joel Steadman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums).

Sat 31: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 31: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet + guest Bill Watson (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. adv. Gospel/soul.
Sun 01: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sun 01: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker @ the Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

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, May 10, 2022

Central Bar Quintet plays Miles Davis' Workin' @ Central Bar, Gateshead - May 9

Pete Tanton (trumpet, vocals); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums) + Abbie Finn (drums); Tom Parry-Jones (drums)

A select crowd assembled on Half Moon Lane to listen to the Central Bar Quintet play the music of Miles Davis' mid-fifties quintet, often described as Davis' first great quintet. The 1956 Prestige album Workin' took centre stage, Pete Tanton charged with the responsibility of 'playing Miles'. Aiding and abetting the genial Tanton were Harry 'John Coltrane' Keeble on tenor sax, and the established house trio of Alan Law, piano, Mick Shoulder, bass, and drummer John Bradford.

The Theme opened the evening's concert set. The quintet finely balanced, Tanton tightly muted. It Never Entered My Mind (Keeble out), a knockout solo from pianist Law on Four, drummer, and MC, John Bradford soloing on Dave Brubeck's In Your Own Sweet Way, this was great stuff. Time to go to the bar then flip the vinyl for side two (the second set).      

Side two: the horns - Tanton and Keeble - blew as if Miles and Trane on Trane's Blues, the Central Bar Quintet well and truly into it. Keeble stepped aside for Alan Law's feature on Ahmad's Blues (Ahmad Jamal), bassist Mick Shoulder soloing as if Paul Chambers! To close, Miles' (Eddie Vinson's) Half Nelson. It had been an excellent recital/recreation/exploration of Workin', one of the Central Bar's best sessions yet. 

The recent run - and oddity - of horn-less jam sessions continued here in Gateshead with just two sitters-in, drummers both. First up, Abbie Finn. Any gig, any jam session, whatever the context, Finn is your woman. And the other drummer in the house, Tom Parry-Jones, impressed, fitting in nicely. Our medical student (what is it about medics and music?) is going to be an asset to the Tyneside jazz scene for the next few years. Check him out. From Miles to Pete Tanton, trumpeter and vocalist, we heard verse and chorus on But Not for Me and Just Friends. It had been an enjoyable concert performance and jam session. June's Central Bar session promises to be a good one, the principals (alto sax and guitar) to be confirmed (Monday 13 June). Russell       
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