Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18982 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 846 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 8.) 25.

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 09: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 09: John Rowland Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Feat. guest Jack ‘Banjo’ Courtney (trumpet).
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Harry Christelis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Jazz Co-op-JNE co-promotion.

Mon 12: Jack Pearce Quintet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 12: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Julija Jacenaite (vocals).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 4:45pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: NW FRQNC @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. Selina Albright, Gianni Vancini.
Wed 14: Jacob Egglestone Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 15: Leah Kirk: A Strange Affair @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Leah Kirk (vocals); Alan Law (keyboards); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Thu 15: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. PJO w. guest Graham Hardy (trumpet).

Wednesday, February 01, 2023

Rossano Sportiello's Manhattan Blue Serenaders + 2: Live at the Flat, # 88 - Jan. 31

Jon-Erik Kellso (trumpet); Evan Christopher (clarinet); Harvey Tibbs (trombone); Rossano Sportiello (piano); Rob Adkins (double bass); Kevin Dorn (drums)

Five of Rossano Sportiello's friends dropped by for # 88 in the pianist's ongoing series of online streams, live from his Greenwich Village home. The Italian's Manhattan Blue Serenaders - Jon-Erik Kellso, Evan Christopher, and Kevin Dorn - were joined for the occasion by trombonist Harvey Tibbs and bassist Rob Adkins. Nine tunes in the allotted one hour, safe in the knowledge that Sportiello doesn't do anything other than tasteful.
The '+2' element of the session comprised first-timers at 'the Flat', trombonist Harvey Tibbs and bassist Rob Adkins. Tibbs spent twenty two years at West Point before retiring to New York, where he continues to work as a freelancer. Sgt. 1st Class Tibbs worked with the Buck Clayton Orchestra, more recently with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks. And what a great player he is! Sitting alongside Jon-Erik Kellso (heard recently at the 2022 Classic Jazz Party) and Evan Christopher, it could be said they were in good company! 

Bassist Rob Adkins wasn't out of place, not in the slightest. And then there's drummer Kevin Dorn, a rare talent. In between the choice selections, our host Sportiello did the talking. The buoyant, swinging rhythm section could cut it on its own, add the horn players and you've got one cracking session. Opening with Nobody's Sweetheart Now, no rehearsal, one number after another, this was a top class NYC session (streamed or otherwise). It's Wonderful (not the Gershwins' tune), Hoagy's New Orleans, and a rousing - when isn't it?! - When the Saints Go Marching In, the Manhattan Blue Serenaders + 2 demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that these guys are NYC A-listers. Russell          

Set list: Nobody's Sweetheart Now; Someday, You'll be Sorry; Muskrat Ramble; Basin Street Blues; Love is Just Around the Corner; It's Wonderful; Bourbon Street Parade; New Orleans; When the Saints Go Marching In.     

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