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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Coleman: ''If you don't keep learning, your mind slows down. Use it or lose it''. (DownBeat, January 2025).

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

17733 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 53 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Jan. 20).

From This Moment On ...

January 2025

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, Holystone. 1:00pm. Free. Fortnightly.
Thu 23: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Obituaries 2024.
Thu 23: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:30-6:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 23: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 24: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. 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: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Lindisfarne Social Club, Wallsend. 9:00pm. Admission: TBC. Jazz, blues , jump jive, rock ‘n’ roll.

Sat 25: Boys of Brass @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 25: New '58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson's Wharf, Hartlepool. 6:30pm (doors). Free. A Burns' Night event. Jazz, swing, funk, soul, blues etc.
Sat 25: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 25: Red Kites Jazz @ Parish Hall, St Barnabas’ Church, Rowlands Gill. 7:30pm. £10.00. BYOB (tea & coffee available), raffle. Proceeds to St Barnabas’ Church. Performance feat. Shayo (vocals).
Sat 25: Jack & Jay’s Songbook @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Graham Hardy Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 26: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:30pm. Free.
Sun 26: Gratkowski, Tramontana, Beresford, Affifi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.
Sun 26: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A Durham University Jazz Society promotion. All welcome.

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 28: ???

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Thu 30: Matters Unknown (aka Jonathan Enser, Nubiyan Twist) + support TBA @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:00pm doors). £12.22 (gig & food); £9:04 (gig only).
Thu 30: Soznak @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 30: Struggle Buggy @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues.

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

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

The Big Chris Barber Band @ Whitley Bay Playhouse - May 30

Bob Hunt (MD, trombone); Mike Henry (trumpet, vocals); Gabriel Garrick (trumpet, vocals); Trevor Whiting (tenor sax, clarinet); Richard Exall (tenor sax, alto sax, clarinet); Nick White (soprano sax, alto sax, bass sax, clarinet); Joe Farler (banjo, guitar); Joe Trudgeon (double bass); Steve Vintner (drums) 

Chris Barber's legacy lives on. His nine piece band continues to fly the flag with concert engagements at home and abroad. This rescheduled Whitley Bay Playhouse concert attracted the faithful, their diminishing number no doubt due to a combination of factors - infirmity, old age or, perhaps, having recently joined Barber in the Jazz Club in the Sky. As the house lights dimmed a solitary figure ambled out onto the stage ...

Barber's long-serving right hand man Bob Hunt sat on a stool, peered into the auditorium and said: Christ, there's not many of you, is there? The Big Chris Barber Band's MD told it as it was. Hunt, joined by his bandmates, opened with Bourbon Street Parade. In no time at all band and audience were having a ball. Unexpectedly, the band reeled off five numbers without pausing for breath. It was only after a hot Jubilee Stomp that band members addressed the audience. It was all very convivial, everyone, on stage and off, were determined to have a good time. 

The Barber years were revisited, from the early 'trad jazz' days through to mid-fifties' Whistlin' Rufus (a tune from the nineteenth century!) to the expansive Ellington charts, not forgetting Barber's pioneering support of the many American blues musicians who, through his efforts, made it across the Atlantic (Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee's Cornbread, Peas and Black Molasses). What would the faithful make of Miles Davis' modal jazz? It is heartening to report that All Blues didn't frighten the horses. The Ellington numbers proved to be the icing on the cake: Black and Tan FantasyEast St Louis Toodle-ooMerry-Go-Round

The musicianship couldn't be faulted (all soloing at some point during the evening), similarly the ensemble work, very polished, these guys are top notch pros. A Big Chris Barber Band concert wouldn't be a Big Chris Barber Band concert without Petit Fleur. We got it and more. It's likely some in the audience heard Barber first time round, seventy-odd years ago. Here's to the next time. Russell                 

1 comment :

Patti said...

Before the band started playing 'Whistling Rufus', there was a bit of giggling among the musicians - and Bob told us a little background story. Princess Margaret was a big fan of the band in the 1950's, and went to many of their concerts. Before one of these she was backstage to meet the musicians - when she saw Chris she sidled up to him and asked if he could play one of her favourite numbers 'Whispering Rupert'. The boys in the band heard this, and from then on, Chris Barber was called 'Rupert'.

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