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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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
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: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm.
Fri 28: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 28: Mostly Moonlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 28: Juliana Day & Manon McCoy @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00. advance. JNE.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

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.

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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