Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

From This Moment On

April

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer. SOLD OUT!
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Thu 30: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: International Jazz Day & JANE AGM.
Thu 30: Duke Junction @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Nadim Teimoori (tenor sax); Jeff Hewer (guitar); Martin Longhawn (organ); Steve Hanley (drums). An International Jazz Day event & the 12th anniversary of Newcastle Jazz Co-op acquiring the Globe!

May

Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 01: Bede Wind Band + East Coast Swing Band @ Cullercoats Methodist Church. 7:30pm. £10.00. Tickets from: www.ticketsource.com, members of Bede Wind Band & at the door. Memorial concert for Anne-Marie Purvis, who was a member of both ensembles. All proceeds to Tiny Lives Trust.
Fri 01: Louis Louis Louis @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00.

Sat 02: Midnite Follies Orchestra @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £20.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. All-star line-up.
Sat 02: Knats Masterclass & Jam II @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 1:00-3:00pm. £15.00.
Sat 02: Shannon Pearl + John Pope & John Garner @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Witch-pop’ + Pope & Garner.
Sat 02: Knats + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sat 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 03: Chilcott Jazz Mass @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 9:30am. Free. Sung communion with Parish Choir (featuring Bob Chilcott’s music). A Jesmond Community Festival event.
Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 03: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Mark Toomey (alto sax).
Sun 03: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: Tom Waits for No Man @ Oxygenic, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm (2:30pm doors). Neckties and Boxing Gloves album launch. £14.00 (gig & a CD); £8.00 (gig only).
Sun 03: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 03: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 03: John Pope & John Garner @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Milano Happy Jazz Fest @ Spirit de Milan - Saturday Sept. 17

As the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra took to the stage at Spirit de Milan on Thursday evening, musician Mauro Porro realised his dream of presenting the first Milano Happy Jazz Fest. Friday's programme featured musicians from France (Jazz à Bichon), Germany (Jungle Jazz Band), Holland (Roaring Jazz Cats) and, from the host nation, the Hot Gravel Eskimos. A daily masterclass, swing dance DJ sets, and, of course, Italian cuisine throughout the weekend made for a wonderful festive occasion. Your correspondent arrived in Milan late Friday evening, Saturday couldn't come soon enough...

Saturday, blue skies, 26°. Some twenty minutes' walk from the hotel, Spirit de Milan is a hidden gem. A local entrepreneur set about transforming the former crystal glass-making factory into a home for live performance. That was some six years ago, today, jazz concerts, swing dance events and much else have revitalised an important Milanese architectural landmark. A full day of concerts culminated in a performance by the Bratislava Hot Serenaders. A crowd in excess of one thousand people generated an amazing atmosphere: many seated, listening to the magnificent orchestra from Slovakia, many others dancing as if it were the 1920s. And in some ways it was, Juraj Bartos and ensemble looking the part, performing in a building which first opened in 1921.   

Scheduled to begin at half past ten, eventually the Bratislavas took to the stage sometime after 11:00pm. Musicianship of the highest order, applause rang out all evening, indeed into the early hours. Milanese certainly know how to party - two full sets of hot jazz, dancing, drinking, eating, applauding long and loud, it was close on 1:30am before the Bratislava Hot Serenaders, encore and curtain calls, were eventually allowed to depart the scene. 

Earlier in the day, Jazz à Bichon followed up their Friday evening concert with two more sets in an idyllic courtyard setting. Shona Taylor (cornet and vocals) marshalled the French outfit including veteran Jean Pierre Dubois (banjo, guitar) with the new boy, pianist Philippe Carment making a big impression, not least playing a James P Johnson solo piano piece. Opening with Hindustan, the band's two sets comprised lots of Bix, I'll See You in My Dreams to Puttin' on the Ritz. The sun shone, the basking audience loved it, what more could one ask for?

The Oliver River Gess Band lead the charge for the home side. From New Orleans the band would migrate, musically speaking, to Chicago and onto New York City, name-dropping as they went (Freddie Keppard, Kid Ory et al), Snake Rag, Struttin' with Some Barbecue, The Mooche and more. The 'more' included Cake Walkin' Babies, King Porter Stomp and Drop Me Off in Harlem. An excellent session. Next up, Cab Calloway. Well, sort of

. The Roaring Cats, from Holland, dressed for the part (tails etc), band and bandleader set about entertaining with a capital E. Who's Sorry Now?, East St Louis Toodle-oo, the 'entertainment' was relentless. 
As dusk fell, a N'Awlins street band appeared in the courtyard. Fairy lights twinkling, the DBB Brass Band snaked its way through the diners, not unlike Tyneside's Northern Monkey Brass Band. The wine flowing, cheese and meats being devoured, this was a jazz festival as our European neighbours do it. Magnifico! Russell        
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