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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18018 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 339 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (May 7).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Gregory Porter + Jo Harrop @ Newcastle City Hall. 7:30pm. Support act: Jo Harrop!

Tue 13: ???

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Recital (stage 2): Leah Kirk (voice) @ The Band Room, Music Studios, Assembly Lane, Newcastle University. 3:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 14: Jerron Paxton @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £24.20. Excellent country blues multi-instrumentalist.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. BACK IN BUSINESS, all welcome!

Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: The Greatest in Jazz - Guitarists.
Thu 15: Pete Tanton & the Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 15: New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). John Garner & John Pope.

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Sophie Speed with the Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 1:00-2:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ Longframlington Memorial Hall. 7:00pm (doors). Tickets: £12.00. from 01665 570984.
Fri 16: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Fri 16: Peter Donegan & Anthony Donegan @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. ‘Lonnie Donegan - The Stories’.

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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?

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