Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: '' A Love Supreme coincided with my search for meaning in life". (DownBeat, March 2025).

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

17864 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 185 of them this year alone and, so far,32 this month (March10).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Wed 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Jam session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Wed 12: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 12: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 13: The Exu + Matt Cliffe @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 13: Oh La La! @ Allendale Village Hall, Northumberland. 7:30pm. £12.00.; £6.00. child. Fifi La Mer (accordion, vocals), Oliver Wilby (reeds).
Thu 13: Fiona Finden’s Jazz Express @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 14: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 14: Paul Taylor @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00-2:00pm. £5.00. at the door. Second Friday in the month lunchtime concert series.
Fri 14: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 14: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 14: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 14: Brass Funkeys + Dilutey Juice @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £8.00.
Fri 14: Oh La La! @ Edmundbyers Village Hall, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. £12.00.; £10.00. (additional £5.00. supper option, ordered in advance). Fifi La Mer (accordion, vocals), Oliver Wilby (reeds).
Fri 14: The Collective @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.50.
Fri 14: Bridget Metcalfe Quintet @ St George’s Venue, Park Road, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.

Sat 15: Hot Teapots @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 15: Lagos to Longbenton + Belladonna @ Whitley Bay Big Social, Whitley Road, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Afrobeat/jazz fusion + soul/funk/R&B
Sat 15: Creakin’ Bones @ Billy Bootleggers. Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 15: Is This Jazz? @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk. Performances by Mu Quintet, Jinjé, A Brief Utopia, John Pope & Co + André Marmot (author of Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion) in conversation + DJ sets ‘til 3:00am. ‘A Festival of New Jazz’.
Sat 15: Vintage Explosion @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Sat 15: One Night Standards @ The White Room, Stanley. 8:00pm. £8.67 (inc. bf). Note - previously advertised Salty Dogs cancelled.
Sat 15: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blues guitar.

Sun 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 16: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 16: Pearl Blossoms @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime.
Sun 16: Hot 8 Brass Band @ Wylam Brewery. 7:30pm. ‘Big Tuba Tour’.
Sun 16: ARQ @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 16: Air4ce @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (8:00pm doors). £12.00.; £10.00. Tom Atkinson’s all-star band (line-up inc. Lindsay Hannon & Sue Ferris).
Sun 16: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 17: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 17: Jamie Toms Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 18: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Laurence Harrison, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.
Tue 18: Phil Bancroft’s Beautiful Storm @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £13.20 & £11.00.. A JNE-Gem Arts co-promotion.

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

Saturday, February 11, 2023

NN North Sea Jazz Festival programme announced

(Press release) The NN North Sea Jazz Festival, the world’s largest indoor music festival, has announced the first wave of artists for its hugely-anticipated return to the Ahoy Centre in Rotterdam this July. Taking place from Friday 7th – Sunday 9th July 2023, this year’s event will present a line-up bursting with huge international stars from across the worlds of jazz, blues, soul, pop and beyond. 

The festival has confirmed an array of some of the world’s most celebrated jazz artists including South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, revered trumpeter and educator Wynton Marsalis with his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, pioneering guitarist Pat Metheny with Side-Eye, Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, Maria Schneider & The Oslo Jazz EnsembleBill FrisellHermeto PascoalStanley ClarkeYussef Dayes, Ezra Collective and many more.

Amongst over 60 artists announced today are superstar UK rapper and singer Stormzy, multi-GRAMMY-winning singer Lizzo, music royalty Tom Jones, visionary singer and songwriter Van Morrison, the truly legendary blues singer and guitarist Buddy Guy, captivating soul trio Gabriels, R&B and neo soul powerhouse Jill Scott and gospel phenomenon Mavis Staples amongst many others

The current line-up can be found here, with more acts to be announced in the coming months: https://www.northseajazz.com/en/program/    

Welcoming more than 75,000 music fans each year, the North Sea Jazz Festival has built an incomparable reputation since its inaugural year in 1976 hosting a string of musical icons over the years from Miles Davis and Count Basie to Amy Winehouse and Adele. This summer the festival expects more than a thousand musicians, spread out over 150 performances and fifteen different stages. Less than an hour’s plane-ride away, a direct train from London St Pancras or ferry ride, the North Sea Jazz Festival is easily accessible from the UK and perfectly suited for a weekend retreat. 

Three-day weekend tickets are already sold out, single day tickets go on sale from 1st February at 10am GMT and available HERE.

NN North Sea Jazz Festival 2023 – Rotterdam Ahoy Centre 

Friday 7 July: Alabaster DePlume; Andrew Cyrille Quartet; Bill Frisell FOUR ft. Greg Tardy, Gerald Clayton, and Jonathan Blake; Buddy Guy - Dammn Right Farewell; Cha Wa; Fergus McCreadie Trio; Jasper Blom Quartet with Pablo Held; Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis; Kenny Barron Quartet; Linda May Han Oh; Marco Mezquida Trio; Maria Schneider & Oslo Jazz Ensemble presents 'Data Lords'; Mavis Staples; Mette Rasmussen Trio North; MonoNeon; Stormzy; SuperBlue: Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter with the Huntertones Horns; Terri Lyne Carrington; The Teskey Brothers; Van Morrison; Yussef Dayes; Zwangere Guy & Lander Gyselinck.

Saturday 8 July: Anna Webber Simple Trio; DeWolff & Dawn Brothers present Double Cream; Eloise; Fred Hersch, Drew Gress, Joey Baron; Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra; Jacob Banks; Jan Garbarek; Jill Scott; Kenny Garrett Quintet; Kokoroko; Lucas Santana 5tet; Marcus Miller; Olivia Dean; The Staples Jr. Singers; Tom Jones; Trondheim Jazz Orchestra & GURLS; Vloeimans Goudsmit Fraanje 'Fugimundi'.

Sunday 9 July: Benny Sings; Branford Marsalis Quartet; Cymande; EZRA Collective; Gabriels; Hermeto Pascoal; Kandace Springs; Latanya Alberto; Laufey; Lizzo; Oded Tzur; Pat Metheny Side-Eye; Samara Joy; Sampa The Great; Son Little; Stanley Clarke N’4Ever; Teis Semey Quintet.

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Stormzy and Tom Jones at a jazz festival?

Blog Archive