Bebop Spoken There

Jools Holland (on his 2026 spring/summer tour): ''With the mighty [R&B] Orchestra, our wonderful boogie woogie singers, and the brilliant Joe Webb opening the shows [including Darlington Hippodrome, June 19], we're in for some very special evenings of music.'' The Northern Echo February 5, 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

18263 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 117 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 6), 17

From This Moment On ...

February

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. St Thomas & Bésame Mucho. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Side Cafe Oᴙkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Table reservations: 0191 477 3970.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington.. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

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

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Press release: Bartholomew - ‘Moorbound’ album launch

Brand New, semi-improvised arrangements featuring Faye McCalman, John Pope, Late Girl (Laura Stutter Garcia) & Will Hammond

Bartholomew (or Chris to his friends) makes experimental electronic music with a cinematic tinge - you might file him alongside Hannah Peel, Tim Hecker or Ben Frost. Bartholomew’s live shows combine radical re-interpretations of his music with sonic exploration and improvisation - in one moment he might be sampling a frying pan into melody or looping the sounds of the magnetic waves surrounding him, before deftly integrating them into a live remix of one of his tracks. 


Bartholomew’s third release represents a bold and conscious move by the artist to break with his own inimitable style. Documenting relocation from South London to North Newcastle, magnetically drawn by the open expanses of the Moors. Sonically the album combines stirring leitmotifs, hypnotic beats through sweeping, symphonic electronics. As such it is a veritable hymn to Newcastle’s fringe lands as well as celebrating the importance of these spaces in the everyday existences of local people. Moorbound is being released on the 3rd of March, 2023 on CD and digital via Wormhole World.


For the album launch Bartholomew will be joined by Newcastle improv stalwarts Faye McCalman and John Pope (from Archipelago), Laura Stutter Garcia (Late Girl and composer in residence at Sage) and percussionist Will Hammond (Ceitidh Mac, The Cusp). 


Venue: Little Buildings, Newcastle NE1 2PW

Date: 09.03.2023

Time: 7.30pm (doors from 7pm) 

Ticket Link: https://tinyurl.com/BartholomewNCL

1 comment :

keith b said...

Hi Chris

We had a brief chat after the Late Girl/Polypores/FLC gig on Saturday at The Cumby.
I knew the date for your album launch was close to something else I had lined up (William Basinski in Leeds on the 8th!) but I will try to get back up to Newcastle for this.

Cheers, Keith.

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