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Bebop Spoken There

Sullivan Fortner: ''I always judge it by the bass player: If the bass player is happy, it's going to be a good night". (DownBeat, February 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

17805 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 126 of them this year alone and, so far, 51 this month (Feb.16).

From This Moment On ...

February 2025

Sun 23: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 23: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Mark Williams Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 23: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 23: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 23: Mississippi MacDonald @ Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. Blues.
Sun 23: Mu Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. CANCELLED!
Sun 23: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 24: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 24: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 25: ?

Wed 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 26: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 26: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 27: Jamie McCredie @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. THIS WEEK ONLY JAMES BIRKETT (guitar)!
Fri 28: Luis Verde Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Knats @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.50. (inc bf.). Album launch gig. Support act TBC.
Fri 28: Black is the Color of My Voice @ The Gala, Durham. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by the life of Nina Simone, performed by Florence Odumosu.
Fri 28: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival: Musicians Unlimited @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 8:00pm. £10.00. (Weekend ticket £20.00., available on the door). Day 1/3. Musicians Unlimited in concert.
Fri 28: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

MARCH 2025

Sat 01: Great North Big Band Jazz Festival @ Park View Community Centre, Chester-le-Street. 11:00am. £15.00. Day 2/3.
Sat 01: TJ Johnson Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £25.00. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Get your funk on! Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ The Watch House, Cullercoats. 2:00-3:30pm. Free.
Sat 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Struggle Buggy @ The Peacock, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Blues band.
Sat 01: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 01: Jack & Jay’s Vintage Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Barbara Gracey Thompson MBE: 27 July 1944 - 9 July 2022

What follows is a personal tribute and not an obituary.  Barbara Thompson and her Paraphernalia provided my first introduction to jazz as a student in the late 1970s/early 1980s.  The Solent Suite at Southampton Guildhall was the venue. I can still picture the subterranean space, where I and a couple of student (and now lifelong) friends sat with our beers listening to Paraphernalia performing tracks from Wilde Tales.  After the gig a vinyl copy of the album (no CDs then) was duly purchased from what is now known as the “Merch” table.  I still have the disc.

My next encounter with the band was probably when I had moved to work in the north east in the old Royal Infirmary at Sunderland.  This is where I met my wife and she and I saw Barbara Thompson and Paraphernalia at the Darlington Arts Centre. This encounter provided my wife’s introduction to Jazz.

We later moved to the Tyne Valley and were able to see the band in Queen’s Hall, Hexham – the almost perfect small (but not too small) venue for jazz. The album du jour was Breathless, which I am listening to as I write.  On the inside of the CD insert, in red marker pen, are the treasured signatures of Barbara Thompson and Jon Hiseman.

It was a great shock to hear in 1997 that Barbara Thompson had developed Parkinson’s Disease, the effects of which she courageously overcame to continue composing and teaching.  Indeed, despite initially having to withdraw from playing, she was subsequently able to contribute to several recordings.

A poignant moment for me was the 2020 release of Journey to a Destination Unknown:  Barbara Thompson MBE – The autobiographical story of her musical life (ISBN 978-1-9163206-2-8).  This is a beautifully presented hardback book and gives a fascinating insight into Barbara’s life. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Barbara Thompson and her music.

Barbara Thompson MBE will be sorely missed.  In her lifetime she made a fantastic contribution to jazz and the musical life of this country and elsewhere.

Requiescat in pace. 

Hugh C

Link to Alyn Shipton tribute (see comment).

8 comments :

Jude Murphy (on F/b) said...

Oh hell, not unexpected I guess but very sad nonetheless. The Paraphernalia album was also the first jazz record I bought. An inspirational musician.

Richard Emmerson (on F/b) said...

I was at the Darlington Arts Centre gig. She was a fantastic musician and obviously very courageous at dealing with her illness. I love her playing in the David Jason series A Touch of Frost. She will be missed.

Chris Kilsby said...

A sad day, but the end of a fabulous career, not only as a player and composer, but as a genuine star. She and the amazing Jon Hiseman were surely the power couple of UK jazz: looks, talent, energy...the works. I saw then twice as a student in Sheffield in the early 80s, with a large and appreciative "cross over" audience, pulling people like me in from guitar blues/rock. These were the heady days of Weather Report and other bands who seemed to do their own thing, mixing jazz, blues, rock, just making great music. And she was in the vanguard: looking back, it doesn't get much better than she (and Paraphernalia) was!
Chris K

John Hudson (on F/b) said...

Saw/heard her in the early days with the New Jazz Orchestra and at the Torrington Jazz Club, North Finchley, with Art Theman. Progressed from there to become a top class, great musician......R.I.P.

Hugh said...

A warm tribute from Alyn Shipton: https://www.jazzwise.com/news/article/barbara-thompson-27-july-1944-9-july-2022

Peter Bevan said...

I can only endorse these comments but thought Hugh and Richard might appreciate a note that the Darlington Arts Centre concert was in October 1986, part of our first Darlington Jazz Festival. I'll try and send a copy of the flyer to Lance separately.
There were too few performances in this area but I also have a note that I saw Barbara with Paraphernalia in February 1992 at the Dovecote Arts Centre in Stockton, then in October that year at the Inn Off The Park, Middlesbrough and finally at the Arc in Stockton in October 2000.
As well as the biography that Hugh comments on I'd also recommend the wonderful CD set, Barbara Thompson Live at the BBC, which was issued a couple of years ago. The 27 complete radio shows range from a superb New Jazz Orchestra set and a quintet with Art Themen to a host of performances by Paraphernalia showing how it developed over the years.

Hugh said...

Thanks, Peter: 1986, yes, that date would concur with when I was at the gig.

Steve Andrews said...

I remember we booked Barbara Thompson and her band at Washington Jazz Club (Biddick Farm Arts Centre). I can't remember the date, but I'm guessing 1980-ish. A very impressive and individual saxophonist who went on to have a great career, though sadly blighted by illness.

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