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

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

T-A-B @ The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle - August 30

Tom Atkinson (guitar, vocals); Jack Courtney (trumpet, flugelhorn); Sue Ferris (tenor sax, alto sax, flute); Deon Krishnan (bass); Jeff Armstrong (drums) + Russ Tippins (guitar)

Billed as music by King Crimson, John McLaughlin etc, it was that, and more, much more. Tom Atkinson's band of rockers and jazzers is an occasional get together and when they do meet up it's a blast! Atkinson doesn't say much, he lets his guitar - and his band - do the talking for him. From King Crimson - was it Starless? - to a set-closing classic (more King Crimson), this Bridge Hotel gig was a high-octane, rockin' night out.

Jazz, funk, rock, Atkinson alluded to the unlikely juxtaposition of Terence Callier (Lazarus Man) to the jazz fusion of Billy Cobham (Atkinson as Tommy Bolin), saying to band and audience: Here we go. Known primarily as a rock guitarist, make no mistake, Atkinson knows more than a few 'jazz' chords. The bandleader's fellow soloists - Sue Ferris in blistering form, Jack Courtney's hugely impressive bebop chops at volume - stood toe-to-toe with Atkinson. The band's rhythm section - five-string funk-meister bassist Deon Krishnan and powerhouse drummer Jeff Armstrong - more than held it down. As a unit, Atkinson and co make one helluva noise!  

T-A-B (that's the Atkinson band's promotional moniker) welcomed friend, guitarist Russ Tippins, to join them on one number - Atkinson on electric, Tippins acoustic. Some of the numbers on the set list were rehearsed twenty four hours earlier. The set closer - 21st Century Schizoid Man - wasn't. Atkinson trusted his band to sight-read their parts. Amazingly, they did just that. Impressive? You bet! T-A-B returns to the Bridge Hotel this evening (Wednesday 31 August) to play Miles Davis' Jack Johnson (at volume!). Eight o'clock, a fiver at the door. Russell         
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2 comments :

Patti Durham (on F/b) said...

This was the funkiest of wild and crazy nights in that upstairs function room - what a blast it was indeed! Now for tonight's gig!

Wednesday, August 31, 2022 5:11:00 pm
Ericka said...

This is the first time I have heard such amazing creations of my own! They have simply been exceptional pieces. And the performance of each of the musicians has left me wanting to see and hear them again. Thank you for contributing to music in this way.

Saturday, September 03, 2022 1:17:00 am

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