Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18585 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 449 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 31) 103

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

June

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 04: Postmodern Jukebox @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Thu 04: Webster’s Ragtime Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £17.00. Trio from Texas, USA.
Thu 04: King Bees @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues excellence!
Thu 04: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 04: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 05: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 05: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 3:20pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Fri 05: House of the Black Gardenia: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). House of the Black Gardenia evening performance. Day 1/3.
Fri 05: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band + IKS Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £24.00. Big band double bill. IKS Big Band (Germany).
Fri 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00

Sat 06: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 2:40pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sat 06: Struggle Buggy @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 06: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 06: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Dry Water Arts, Amble. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £15.00.
Sat 06: IKS Big Band: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). IKS Big Band evening performance. Day 2/3.
Sat 06: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Northumbrian Revival, West Benridge Farm, nr. Morpeth NE61 3RZ. 7:30-9:30pm. £21.47 (£2.77. child). 82nd D-Day anniversary event.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 06: FILM: The Magic City: Birmingham According to Sun Ra @ The Burnlaw Centre, Hexham NE47 8HF. A weekend event in association with Star & Shadow Cinema. Film screening at 9:30pm. £28.02. Dir. Guillaume Maupin & Pablo Guarise.

Sun 07: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 11:00am. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sun 07: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Steve Walker (trumpet).
Sun 07: Joe Steels: Celebrating Wes @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Trio: Joe Steels, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Eddie Gripper Trio @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Gripper (piano); Clem Saynor (double bass); Patrick Barrett-Donlon (drums). Americana album tour.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Magpies of Swing: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 4:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). Magpies of Swing afternoon performance. Day 3/3.
Sun 07: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 5:40pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Sun 07: Webster’s Ragtime Trio @ The Ship Inn, Low Newton. 7:00pm. £12.50. Trio from Texas, USA.
Sun 07: Salty Dog @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:00pm. £5.00. Performance in the Studio venue.
Sun 07: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Riding Mill Village Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 07: Swing Manouche @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Feat. Steve McGarvie (clarinet).

Mon 08: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 11:50am. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Mon 08: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 08: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 5:15pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Mon 08: Dave Bristow Quintet @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £22.00., £11.00., £5.50. Bristow (piano); Christian Altehülshorst (trumpet); Félix Hardouin (alto sax); Gabriel Pierre (double bass); Guillaume Prévost (drums).

Tue 09: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.
Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 09: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 8:10pm. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne.

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