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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Parish Hall, St Barnabas’ Church, Rowlands Gill. 7:30pm. £10.00. BYOB (tea & coffee available), raffle. Proceeds to St Barnabas’ Church. Performance feat. Shayo (vocals).
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Swanage Jazz Festival: July 8 - 10

(© Jeff Pritchard)
This was a great festival and there were many highlights among the acts that I managed to catch. Most of the shows took place in either the Mowlem Theatre or the nearby Swanage Conservative Club - a much smaller building. There were other venues scattered around the town such as The Centre, a couple of churches, the Purbeck House Hotel and several pubs that were hosting festival events. I restricted myself to the Mowlem Theatre and the Swanage Conservative Club so there were some acts that I didn't get to see due to the schedule making it nigh on impossible to be in two places at once.

The first band I saw was the Nigel Price Wes Reimagined Quintet and this featured two superb sax players in Vasilis Xenopoulos tenor and Tony Kofi alto. They made a big impact and I was also impressed with drummer Joel Barford a name to make a note of.   


The next act was a fine quartet led by Xhosa Cole (pictured) an outstanding Birmingham/London based musician who has an original approach to his tenor playing that I find hard to describe. As well as doing Monk’s Misterioso,  he did a great version of that old standard Almost Like Being in Love. Cole, a former BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year winner, is another name to watch out for as is his guitarist Steve Saunders who is my kind of guitarist.


Then it was a short walk to the Con Club to see my friend, alto saxist Greg Abate, who was due to hit the stage with the Craig Milverton Trio at 9pm. Before Greg’s set we heard Craig Milverton perform his Tribute to Oscar Peterson on a Korg keyboard with bass player Sandy Suchodolski and drummer Nick Millward.  Greg Abate then followed with a brilliant one hour set of hard bop during which time he was joined for a couple of tunes by festival organiser and guitarist extraordinaire Nigel Price. The Charlie Parker tune Yardbird Suite  was well received by the room full of fans and also the Kenny Barron number Voyage. On Donna Lee, Greg got into some high velocity interplay with Nick Millward and so ended one of the most exciting sets of the festival.


Other shows that I enjoyed were the Alan Barnes' Octet, Art Themen and New Directions, Mark Kavuma and the Banger Factory, and Henry Lowther and his Still Waters quintet which contained Pete Hurt who I knew from his days as a music student in Manchester.


The final show from 8-45 to 10-15 pm at the Mowlem Theatre was the Simon Spillett Big Band plays the music of Tubby Hayes  concert and it more than lived up to my expectations being chock full of great musicians and lots of exciting solos. There was even a version of Soft and Supple, a tune I played in Newcastle many years ago as a member of the Kathy Stobart Rehearsal Band. The trumpet section that Spillett selected was a strong one and it was a joy to hear Mark Armstrong in top form and also Freddy Gravita who I had not seen before.

                   

To sum up, I had a wonderful weekend of jazz and I would like to give a mention to the sound crew for making sure the whole changeover process went smoothly. Mike Farmer

2 comments :

Paul Kelly said...

Many thanks for this excellent review. It was great having Nigel Price at the Festival, fulfilling a number of roles, but I think he'd be a bit surprised to find himself described as 'Festival Organiser'. Nigel organised a magnificent Swanage Jazz Festival in 2018. But it was taken over by a new local team in 2019 and it was they who organised this year's event. Paul Kelly, Chair, Swanage Jazz Festival.

Mike Farmer said...

Sorry Paul that I thought Nigel Price was the organiser of the event. This may have been due to my seeing him at most of the events that I went to. Unfortunately there were some venues I could not get to due to my legs almost giving way but I still had a great time at the Mowlem Theatre and the Swanage Conservative Club.

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