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, February 17, 2023

Darrifourcq - Hermia - Ceccaldi @ the Globe Feb. 12

(© ken Drew)
Sylvain Darrifourcq (drums & percussion); Manuel Hermia (sax); Valentin Ceccaldi (cello)

Following hot on the heels of recent Jazz North East presentations from Portugal's Luis Vicente and American saxophonist John Dikeman, this week saw the phenomenal Franco-Belgian trio of Sylvain Darrifourcq, Valentin Ceccaldi and Manuel Hermia.  They came to Newcastle following performances in Slovenia and Austria, and whilst they are generally booked into larger venues, this was an opportunity to see, and more importantly, hear them in the intimate upstairs room in the Jazz Bar at the Globe, choosing to come here for their only UK gig of this mini-Tour.

Whilst   Darrifourcq and Ceccaldi are familiar players to the keen Newcastle audiences, the trio formed with Manuel Hermia is also a well-established relationship - their first album ‘God at the Casino’ was released in 2015.  This gig at the Globe was a long overdue chance to catch one of Europe’s most distinctive outfits, delivering a rich musical tapestry described by London Jazz News as “a fascinating mélange of edgy grooves, wild extended techniques and avant-garde soundscapes”. And delivered with a fun element too, always demonstrating a winning mix of adventurous compositions and playfulness with soaring free improvisation with dynamics to the extreme. And, as eagerly anticipated, it was a joy to behold.

We were treated to two sets of incredible musical dynamism. Those choosing a front-row seat had the added bonus of watching, up close and personal, a masterclass of each performer as they weaved their way through various  soundscapes.  Darrifourcq at the drums demonstrating some incredible physicality from sliding (or pinging) of various metallic objects (and others in his within-reach armoury) across a drum face whilst keeping perfect time with the snare, to the incessant machine-gun like Brrrr-rat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat in one of his many near-deafening crescendos. And it all came together seamlessly, each set concluding with a lowering of speed and sound, to a perfectly placed end.

The audience were enthralled, and the players unable to hide their delight at the applause from such an attentive audience. We had, of course, all enjoyed it. Thoroughly! Ken Drew

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