Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,057 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 921 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 29) 100.

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

October.

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Friday, November 04, 2022

The Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone - Nov. 3

David Gray (trombone, trumpet, vocals); Lawrence McBriarty (trombone, vocals); Brian Bennett (banjo); Paul Grainger (double bass)

The Holystone pub, Thursdays, it's the Vieux Carré Jazzmen. Over the years the line-up has evolved, the present outfit led, as ever, by Brian Bennett, aided and abetted by veteran trombonist Lawrence McBriarty and two recent recruits, string bass man Paul Grainger and 'Showtime', that's the adaptable 'boneman, trumpeter and aspiring vocalist, David Gray. 

This week's session focussed upon Showtime - when doesn't a session feature the multi-talented musician?! Avalon for starters, Home, then an unlikely Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Showtime switching from one horn to the other, vocals all the while. More regular fayre included It's a Sin to Tell a Lie, Cheek to Cheek (a non-dancing Showtime, although knowing David he could probably do a convincing Fred Astaire) and, at the request of Lawrence McBriarty, Out of Nowhere. Mr McBriarty showed Showtime that he too, is no slouch in the vocal stakes singing Dallas Blues. Mr PG (Paul Grainger) grabbed an occasional solo and boss man Bennett held it all together. 

Time was pressing, Classic Jazz Party duties were looming. time to drink up a London Pride and move on to the Village Hotel. Russell

3 comments :

Brian Bennett said...

There’s a terrific documentary currently available on Netflix showing never-before-seen footage of John Fogerty’s CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL in concert at the Royal Albert Hall. Narrated by American film actor, Jeff Bridges, the documentary looks into the modest beginnings and meteoric rise of the band. Dave Gray’s version of Fogerty’s ‘Bad Moon Rising’ was (in my slightly slanted opinion) terrific. It’s a fab song with poignant lyrics which can be read as a portent of Hurricane Katrina and the devastating floods which hit New Orleans in 2005.

Barry Aitchison said...

I go there most Thursdays. The vintage jazz, and the venue, is great. It is deserving of a larger audience. (Content edited),

Brian Bennett said...

Barry Aitchison is quite right in saying the Holystone pub is a great venue. It is. However, the pub car park now has a ‘Numberplate Recognition System’ in place which requires customers arriving by car to enter their vehicle registration number into a tablet located on the bar. Failing to do so can result a £100 fine. Other pubs in the area including The Corner House in Heaton have also adopted this system to ensure that their car parking facilities are used by ‘customers only’. Sadly, many bone fide customers park up and either don’t notice the warning signage/instructions or simply forget to register. When that happens they don’t come back. It’s a worrying trend.

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