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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Fri 04: Tom McGuire & the Brassholes @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00.
Fri 04: Nicolas Meier’s Infinity Group + Spirit of Jeff Beck @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm.
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

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

Friday, August 26, 2022

BSH interviews Mike Farmer (part two)

BSH: Favourite musicians that you’ve heard live and, again, anyone that you found didn’t live up to expectation.

Mike: I think I tend to favour saxophonists when asked for my favourite musicians whom I’ve seen live - and there are many - but I  would put Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, Sonny Stitt, Stan Getz and Archie Shepp in my top five. Then Bob Mover, Lou Tabackin, Ronnie Scott, Don Menza, Clifford Jordan, Brew Moore, Greg Abate, Anthony Braxton, Lanny Morgan, Sam Most, Sonny Rollins, Paul Gonsalves, Lucky Thompson. 

Then brass players that I like include Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Benny Green (trombone) Miles Davis, Ira Sullivan, Red Rodney, Maynard Ferguson, Jo Hunter, Shake Keane.

Piano players would be Kenny Drew, Erroll Garner, Gil Coggins, John Donaldson, Junior Mance, Eddie Higgins, Freddie Garner, Thelonious Monk. 

Bass: Ray Brown, Sirone, Charlie Haden, Scott Colley, Dave Green, Dave Holland.  

Drums: Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Spike Wells, Barry Altschul. 

Vibes: Dave  Pike, Lionel Hampton, Red Norvo. 

Violin: Billy Bang, Jean Luc Ponty. 

Organ: Jimmy Smith, Wild Bill Davis.

Regarding players not living up to expectations I can’t think of many but there was one occasion when I went to the Club 43 to see Hank Mobley and he was OK but not as good as his playing on Soul Station. When I saw Paul Gonsalves with the Ellington band in Berlin he was way off mic and I couldn’t hear a note he was playing. Still, these occasions were very rare.

I’ve just realised I’ve missed some important musicians off my list that I saw live such as Roland Kirk, Warne Marsh, Leo Wright, Milt Jackson, Sherman Ferguson, Tal Farlow, Kenny Burrell, Yusef Lateef, Gil Evans and Cannonball Adderley.

BSH: On a personal level, I know you play sax. Would you like to tell us a bit more about your playing side? Did you play in Kathy Stobart’s rehearsal band?

Mike: Regarding my playing.  I still play my vintage Martin tenor sax but it is a very heavy instrument and on the rare occasion that I play anywhere I sometimes have to ask for assistance in carrying the horn up or down stairs. Due to health problems I have limited opportunities to play but I like getting together with a guitarist friend and a bass player and trying out tunes  which I find very therapeutic. I sometimes play my Stagg soprano but only on numbers that suit the instrument. I have an alto sax but I’ve not played it for ages as I prefer the sound of the tenor.

I enjoyed playing in the Kathy Stobart rehearsal band and it was great playing alongside Stan Sulzmann in the sax section. I remember Kenny Wheeler being in the trumpet section and Chris Laurence was the bass player. That was the last time I played in a big band.

6 comments :

Peter Courtley said...

Mike, you mention:
'I enjoyed playing in the Kathy Stobart rehearsal band and it was great playing alongside Stan Sulzmann in the sax section. I remember Kenny Wheeler being in the trumpet section and Chris Laurence was the bass player. That was the last time I played in a big band.'
What year would this have been and where was the rehearsal band? I'm the late Kathy Stobart's youngest son Pete and doing some research. Do yopu know if Don Weller was also in this rehearsal band at some point?

Mike Farmer said...

Hi Peter Great to hear from you. Re the Kathy Stobart Rehearsal Band this was during the first Newcastle Jazz Festival which I think was 1974 I had to check on the internet and there is some info on the bands that were playing there. I do not remember Don Weller being part of the rehearsal band. I recall the first tune we tried was a Tubby Hayes chart Soft and Supple and we also did Gil Evans's La Nevada plus a third tune that might have been another Gil Evans arrangement. Kathy did a great job of bandleading and there was a possibility of the band doing a spot during the festival but the musicians union decided it could not happen. I saw Kathy Stobart a few times and the last time was at Bracknell in a quintet with Lenny Best the vibes player. Cheers Mike

Peter Courtley said...

Thanks Mike, I assume Kath had booked/paid Stan Sulzmann, Kenny Wheeler etc. as pros
to lead each section... or have I got this wrong?

Mike Farmer said...

Hi Pete- Stan Sulzmann and Kenny Wheeler were part of pianist John Taylor's sextet and as well as being in the rehearsal band, they did a sextet concert which I attended. The sextet also did a workshop of sorts but was not as satisfying as the big band one that Kathy ran.I don't know if Kathy had booked/paid for Sulzmann and Wheeler or it might have been Brian Blain who was the union rep. Andy Hudson I think is still around and may be worth contacting.-Mike

Andy Hudson said...

Kathy was in the festival but I think played with Humph. Skidmore and Henry Lowther were also in that Festival. I have vague memories of some MU kerfuffle. I had difficulties with them due to a complaining local bandleader (Alan Nicholson) which was eventually sorted to the extent that I was actually dragged on to some MU National Committees. The aforementioned Brian Blain was instrumental in calming the waters.

Sorry but you know how vague and hazy 1974 really was.

Peter Courtley said...

Thanks guys

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