Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 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

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

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

April

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Thursday, March 30, 2023

2023 Cheltenham Jazz Festival Programme details announced

(Press release) Cheltenham Jazz Festival will return in four weeks with a broad programme featuring over 50 concerts from an eclectic mix of established stars and pioneering emerging talent. Details/tickets HERE.

Running across six days from Wednesday 26 April – Monday 1 May 2023, the Festival will present shows from UK vocalist Laura Mvula, who will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of her Mercury-nominated debut album Sing To The Moon, 10 million-selling pop troubadour MIKA, who performs his first UK concert outside of London for 10 years, Van Morrison, who will draw on his vast back catalogue alongside performing tracks from soon-to-be-released new album Moving on Skiffle, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra, who will join forces with Spandau Ballet lead singer Tony Hadley to perform new arrangements of standout tracks from across his career, Damian Lewis, who teams up with seven-piece jazz outfit Kansas Smitty’s to perform tracks from his much-anticipated forthcoming debut album, acclaimed US singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, Grammy-winning Mexican guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, much-loved British singer Will Young, chart-topping blues-rock singer and guitarist Jake Bugg, acclaimed UK singer and pianist Joe Stilgoe, and British pop royalty Squeeze, who will perform a hit-laden set from across their near-50-year career.

 

Once again returning as the Festival’s Artistic Curator is Gregory Porter who, alongside handpicking a selection of artists for this year’s programme, will perform his own headline show featuring an array of star special guests including Lizz Wright and more. Porter will also perform as part of Soul Jazz Summit, a brand-new annual show for the Festival which will feature the BBC Concert Orchestra celebrating the explosion of jazz and soul that reverberated around the globe in the late fifties. The Soul Jazz Summit concert will also feature guest appearances from Madeline Bell, Mica Millar, Ashton Jones, Vanessa Haynes and Georgia Cécile.

 

A strong contingent of the thriving UK scene will be represented on this year’s line-up with performances from the likes of boundary-pushing trumpeter Laura Jurd, pioneering London jazz collective Ezra Collective, Mercury-nominated pianist Fergus McCreadie, multi-award-winning Scottish singer Georgia Cécile, fast emerging soul singer Mica MillarPat Thomas and Orphy Robinson’s duo Blacktop featuring BBC Young Jazz Musician Of The Year winner Xhosa Cole, and acclaimed vocal trio SKYLLA, led by bassist Ruth Goller and featuring Lauren Kinsella and Alice Grant.

 

The leading lights of the international scene will feature in the form of star of Buena Vista Social Club Eliades Ochoa, the legendary four-time Grammy-winning bassist Stanley Clarke, US American jazz-soul vocalist Lizz Wright, wildly acclaimed Blue Note guitarist Julian Lage, and experimental Norwegian guitarist Stian Westerhus who teams up with Mark Sanders and Chris Mapp for CollapseUncollapse.

 

Additional concerts include Dutch gypsy swing guitarist Mozes Rosenberg with Giacomo Smith QuartetDeadeye, featuring Berlin-based musicians Kit Downes, Reinier Baas and Jonas Burgwinkel, Norwegian drummer Paal Nilssen-Love’s CircusEspen Eriksen Trio with Andy Sheppard and Angusori, which brings together the Norwegian Stavanger Kitchen Orchestra and a selection of musicians from Roma.

 

The Festival’s talent development strand offers opportunities for young, up-and-coming jazz artists. The sought-after double bill pairing in the Jazz Arena for rising stars will feature Tamzene and Immy. Kansas Smitty’s late-night takeover sessions in The Daffodil will introduce special guests from across the Festival programme and there is an international collaboration between the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and students from Siena Jazz Accademia. On the Free Stage, local school jazz bands will entertain the crowds in the popular Jazz It Up morning sessions while an array of family-themed events will include Family Sing – with Black Voices, Arun Ghosh – Indo-Jazz Adventures, and Fabulous Flamenco. This year’s Jerwood Jazz Encounters commission is Waves II, Andrew Woodhead’s bellringing project which explores the relationship between music and physics.

 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2023 is hosted in a tented Festival village in Montpellier Gardens, featuring the Big Top stage, Jazz Arena, Free Stage, a programme of family activities and events and a food, drink and market area. The Festival reaches beyond the Festival village into Cheltenham, bringing jazz to venues throughout the day until late into the night. These include Cheltenham Town Hall, Parabola Arts Centre, Hotel du Vin, and The Daffodil, as well as a free “…around town” programme in association with Cheltenham BID. 

No comments :

Blog Archive