Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18585 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 449 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 31) 103

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

June

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 04: Postmodern Jukebox @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Thu 04: Webster’s Ragtime Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £17.00. Trio from Texas, USA.
Thu 04: King Bees @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues excellence!
Thu 04: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 04: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 05: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 05: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 3:20pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Fri 05: Pete Tanton & Alan Law @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 05: House of the Black Gardenia: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). House of the Black Gardenia evening performance. Day 1/3.
Fri 05: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band + IKS Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £24.00. Big band double bill. IKS Big Band (Germany).
Fri 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00

Sat 06: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 2:40pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sat 06: Struggle Buggy @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 06: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 06: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Dry Water Arts, Amble. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £15.00.
Sat 06: IKS Big Band: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). IKS Big Band evening performance. Day 2/3.
Sat 06: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Northumbrian Revival, West Benridge Farm, nr. Morpeth NE61 3RZ. 7:30-9:30pm. £21.47 (£2.77. child). 82nd D-Day anniversary event.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 06: FILM: The Magic City: Birmingham According to Sun Ra @ The Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 9:30pm. £7.00., £5.00. Dir. Guillaume Maupin & Pablo Guarise.

Sun 07: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 11:00am. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sun 07: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Steve Walker (trumpet).
Sun 07: Joe Steels: Celebrating Wes @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Trio: Joe Steels, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Eddie Gripper Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Gripper (piano); Clem Saynor (double bass); Patrick Barrett-Donlon (drums). Americana album tour.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Magpies of Swing: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). Magpies of Swing afternoon performance. Day 3/3.
Sun 07: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 5:40pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sun 07: Webster’s Ragtime Trio @ The Ship Inn, Low Newton. 7:00pm. £12.50. Trio from Texas, USA.
Sun 07: Salty Dog @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:00pm. £5.00. Performance in the Studio venue.
Sun 07: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Riding Mill Village Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 07: Swing Manouche @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Feat. Steve McGarvie (clarinet).

Mon 08: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 11:50am. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Mon 08: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 08: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 5:15pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Mon 08: Dave Bristow Quintet @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £22.00., £11.00., £5.50. Bristow (piano); Christian Altehülshorst (trumpet); Félix Hardouin (alto sax); Gabriel Pierre (double bass); Guillaume Prévost (drums).

Tue 09: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 09: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 8:10pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.

Friday, February 24, 2023

Manchester Jazz Festival is back to jazz-up your Summer!

(Press release) Manchester Jazz Festival is back for 10 days of jam-packed festival fun and musical vibes across the city this May! 

mjf2023 will take place between 19 - 28 May 2023 at venues and sites across Manchester, celebrating the latest up and coming talent from across the North, and the best names in contemporary jazz including: Hot 8 Brass Band, Buena Vista Social Club's Eliades Ochoa, Mica Millar, Billy Cobham, Arun Ghosh, Fred Wesley and the New J.B.’s, Yemi Bolatiwa and many more... 

The festival begins with a spectacular FREE opening weekender at the new vibrant neighbourhood: First Street (mjf @ First Street) from 19 – 21 May 2023. There will be three event stages: Main Stage, Garden Stage and HOME stage, each celebrating the breadth and individuality of our home-grown scene: bands from, or with a strong connection to, the North.  

There are weekday gigs at St Ann’s Church, nightly gigs at Matt & Phreds, events at Forsyth Music Shop and at The Yard with partners NQ Jazz, with a couple of cheeky additions at The Blue’s Kitchen and the festival closes with an extended weekend-long party at Band on the Wall. mjf are also hosting a new commission *THEMORY taking place at The International Anthony Burgess Foundation - an immersive audiovisual installation, drawing from the subjective and fluid forces of family and history, place and time.  

Ticket prices range from free to £35 but there’s plenty of free-to-access music and activities taking place at locations across the city centre, including the whole opening weekender: mjf @ First Street.  

Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday 24 February at manchesterjazz.com 

***** 

Highlights of the festival programme are as follows:  

·         mjf @ First Street, 19 - 21 May 

Wizards of Twiddly, Yemi Bolatiwa, Good Habits, Ni Maxine, Charlotte Keeffe’s Right Here Right Now Quartet, Nick Walters, Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band, Apollo House, Nasa Parka, Moby Dickless, Aaron Wood & James Girling, Gary Washington Quartet, Rory A. Green, Paint or Pollen, J2oh and Moore & Fairhall. 

As well as some of the North’s leading artists gracing the Main Stage on Friday and Saturday (19 - 20 May), some of Greater Manchester’s 18-25 year-old bands from mjf’s soundcheck talent development programme, and a selection of mjf hothouse alumni artists, will perform on the Garden Stage and on Sunday (21 May) mjf partners with Jazz North to celebrate 10 years of the northern line touring support scheme: showcasing five acts selected by industry leaders.  

·          The Yard, presented in association with NQ Jazz, 22 - 24 May 

Donovan Haffer, Alina Bzhezhinska’s HipHarp Collective ft. Tony Kofi and Nathaniel Facey Trio 

·          St Ann’s Church, 24 - 26 May 

Freight Train featuring Paul Clavis, Liam Noble & Cathy Jordan, Robert Mitchell and Stan Sulzmann & Nikki Iles 

·          Matt and Phreds, 19 - 27 May 

Alligator Gumbo, Henry Botham's New Orleans Piano Gumbo, Los Chichanos, Arun Ghosh, M&P x mjf Open Jam, Cuba Vida Salsa Band, The Chanteuse, Jim Wallace, Baiana, Dan Burnett and Deadbeat Brass. 

·          Band on the Wall, 25 - 28 May 

Mica Millar, Rosie Frater-Taylor, Band on the Wall triple-bill: Robocobra, Romarna Campbell & Marcus Joseph, Hot 8 Brass Band (*at Albert Hall, promoted by Band on the Wall and mjf), Julie Campiche Quartet, Hannabiell & The Midnight Blue Collective and Buena Vista Social Club's Eliades Ochoa. 

·          Forsyths, 25 - 26 May 

Nishla Smith - The Beast, The James Pearson Trio (Ronnie Scott’s) – 100 Years of Jazz Piano 

·         The Blue’s Kitchen, 23 – 24 May 

Fred Wesley & The New J.B.'s and Miles Davis: Kind of Blue with Olivia Cuttill Quintet 

Steve Mead, mjf CEO and Artistic Director, said: “We can’t wait to welcome you back to our 10-day festival - the 28th mjf - to share some hugely inspiring artists with a host of venues and partners across the city.   

mjf is acknowledged for championing northern talent, under-the-radar artists and debuts of new music, as well as bringing some big names to Manchester, and of course for celebrating the diversity of our music and its artists.  

For many, mjf is the sound of surprise – it’s the sound we love and we hope you will too. We can’t wait for you to join us.”   

mjf2023 will take place from 19 – 28 May 2023 in venues across Manchester city centre. Tickets go on sale at 10am on 24 February at manchesterjazz.com   

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