Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18383 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 247 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 17 ), 57

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

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Benny Waters in Jazzwise - November 2022

The November issue of Jazzwise, like its previous editions, probably includes more words per page than any other jazz mag since time began. Commendable as this is, before purchasing, a visit to Specsavers is essential for those of us who are below 20-20 vision.

The font size is only marginally bigger than the bottom lines of those charts that the opticians challenge you to read. As such, this is a magazine possibly aimed at the younger fan who has taken his mother's advice and hasn't gone blind (Pete Long joke!) which may be why I don't always recognise the names.

However, a name I most certainly recognised in the current issue was that of the legendary sax/clarinet pioneer Benny Waters.

Peter Vacher, in an article reminiscing about the club La Cigale in Montmartre where he met and formed a lifelong friendship with the veteran reedman whose career could be traced back to King Oliver, jogged my memories of hearing Benny Waters in 1982 with, the appropriately named, north east band, the Savannah Syncopators at the Corner House in Heaton and at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival of the same year - they also recorded an album with Benny Waters.

Hopefully, this may act as a prompt for past members of the now defunct SS such as Dave Kerr and Steve Andrews to add their own memories of this saxophone pioneer who, like Hawkins got in early and didn't stay in a timewarp - c'mon in guys - Lance 
 
PS: See HERE for more on the Savannah Syncopators.

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