Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18288 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 142 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 14), 42

From This Moment On ...

February

Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Squabble @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:00pm. Steve Chambers (organ); Jude Murphy (double bass, vocals); Sid White (drums).
Fri 20: Jive Aces @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors).
Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Sat 21: ???

Sun 22: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 22: Joe Steels Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Harben Kay Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Joe Steels Group @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 24: Liam Oliver & Shayo Oshodi @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Geordie Jazz Jam @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Newcastle University jam session. All welcome.
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 26: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 26: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00 adv.
Thu 26: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Blues.

Fri 27: Joe Steels Group @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT! A Blue Patch album tour.
Fri 27: Alan Barnes w. Mick Shoulder Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Trio: Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Radio Hito + Eddie Prévost, Silvain Schmid & Tom Wheatley @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £12.22., £10.10., £8.00.
Fri 27: Giacomo Smith w Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Fri 27: Alan Barnes w. Mick Shoulder Trio @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Trio: Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).

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, July 19, 2022

Alter Ego @ Blaydon Jazz Club - July 18

(© Roly Veitch)
Dave Hignett (trumpet, flugelhorn); Keith Robinson (alto sax); Niall Armstrong (tenor sax, flute); Joe Steels (guitar); Tony Abell (bass guitar); David Johnson (drums)

Hotter than Hades, Blaydon Riviera Jazz Club welcomed Alter Ego. A sextet mining the Jazz Messengers' tradition with a measure of samba and a slew of band compositions, Alter Ego arrived with debutant Joe Steels in the (metaphorical) band bus. The established frontline - Dave Hignett, Keith Robinson and Niall Armstrong - would knock out some fine, no nonsense solos, supported by bassist Tony Abel and Tyne Valley Youth Big Band alumnus, drummer David Johnson. Oh, yes, and the new recruit, guitarist Joe Steels. 

Keith Robinson's Zippit opened the programme. Fine playing all round, the Alter Ego guys knew exactly what they were doing. During the evening the thought occurred that it must have taken hours of rehearsal time to 'get down' the horn arrangements. Readers all, all hitting their cues, the select audience liked what it was hearing. Niall Armstrong's Bacon Sandwich (yes, please!) as a samba, Quasimodal (more modal than Quasimodo) with Hignett on flugelhorn, Dog Leap Bounce featuring a tremendous alto solo by Robinson, this was modern jazz at its best. 
(© Roly Veitch)

Things were heating up (musically speaking!) and Bobby Watson's Wheel Within a Wheel added more fuel to the fire (furnace). The one-time Jazz Messengers' composition asks a lot of musicians - the horns' intricate interplay, the rhythm section holding it down - and the Alter Ego guys were more than up to the task. Following a short break (beers on the terrace overlooking the Tyne), Keith Robinson and co returned to the stage to pick up where they left off. More great work by the horns on Armstrong's subtle, tricky Undertones, Tony Abell's Llangranog Blues, Armstrong's Mustard Mash (Abell soloing), Andy Hawking's How Low the Sun channeled Bird (drummer Johnson in the spotlight), all in all a marvellous evening at the Black Bull. Special mention of Joe Steels - a fine guitarist, one would never have known this was his debut gig with the band. 

Next month's Blaydon Jazz Club session (Monday 15 August) presents the Stu Collingwood Organ Trio - that's Collingwood at the organ with Harry Keeble blowing tenor sax alongside drummer Abbie Finn. It should be a good one, eight o'clock start. Russell               
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