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

18429 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 293 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 13 ) 27,

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

Fri 17: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 17: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 17: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 17: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 17: Ben Crosland Quartet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £12.96 (inc. bf) online; £15.00 on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.

Sat 18: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. 6:30pm. £12.00. Swing dance sessions + Bright Street Big Band 7:30-8:15pm & 8:45-9:30pm.
Sat 18: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ The Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm. £27.00 (inc. bf).

Sun 19: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Trio + Lara Hopper.
Sun 19: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 19: Straight to Tape @ The Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Edd Carr, Jonathan Proud, John Hirst. Blues trio.
Sun 19: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 19: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00.

Mon 20: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 20: Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Tue 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Victoria & Albert Inn, Seaton Delaval NE25 0AT. Tel: 0191 237 3697. Tickets: £14.00. ‘Pie & Pea Lunch’.
Tue 21: Neil Cowley Trio @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £29.00., £26.00., £23.00.
Tue 21: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Jack Littlewood (drums).

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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.

Sunday, April 16, 2023

Dean Stockdale Quartet: Celebrating Oscar @ Queen's Hall, Hexham - April 16

Dean Stockdale (piano); Tim Williams (guitar); Gavin Barras (double bass); Gaz Hughes (drums)

To launch a new monthly Sunday afternoon concert series in Hexham pianist Dean Stockdale presented his 'Celebrating Oscar' - that's Oscar Peterson - set to a capacity audience in the library of Queen's Hall Arts Centre. Joining Stockdale were his regular quartet bandmates from west of the Pennines, guitarist Tim Williams, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. 

From the opening Blues Etude through to the set-closing Hymn to Freedom all four musicians were on top form. Until last year guitarist Tim Williams was an unknown quantity to jazz fans on Tyneside and the wider region. Not any more, what a great player he is! A few months ago at the Lit and Phil in Newcastle the quartet played to a full house and Williams was a revelation, this afternoon he won a host of new fans here in the Northumberland market town. Think Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis and, with his own distinctive voice, Mr T Williams. Unison lines with Stockdale were a joy to listen to, the swinging bass and drums of Messrs Barras and Hughes equally so. 

The four musicians on the stand have worked together on many occasions and it shows: empathetic, if not telepathic, a nod, a smile, charts polished but not prescriptive, with licence for individual expression. Way back when at a late night session (eg Newcastle's Corner House) such was the excitement generated by a blues or a real cooker (Hogtown Blues, C Jam Blues) they would have elicited mid-number shouts from the five-deep barflies of Yeah!!! Yeah!!! It wasn't quite like this here in genteel Hexham but we're working on it! 

Solos were plentiful - Stockdale then Williams, Barras then Hughes, all swinging like nobody's business. This all-Oscar Peterson set (compositions/arrangements) hit the spot, the Tyne Valley audience lapping it up. A new album is in the offing and on the evidence of this performance it's definitely one to look out for. Russell    

Set list: Blues Etude; Falling in Love With Love; Bossa Beguine; Nigerian Marketplace; Have You Met Miss Jones?; Night Train; Noreen's Nocturne; When Summer Comes; Hogtown Blues; Wheatland; C Jam Blues; Hymn to Freedom.   

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