Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18395 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 259 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 30 ), 69

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

March

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). Free. Chicago blues.

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Emma Rawicz, J2oh @ Sage Gateshead - June 9

(© Patti/Russell/Patti)
Emma Rawicz (tenor sax); Ivo Neame (piano); Ant Law (guitar); Conor Chaplin (bass guitar); James Maddren (drums).

In Sage One it was Bonnie Raitt who packed them in whilst in Sage Two the award winning tenor saxophonist/composer Emma Rawicz had her own healthy following.

A non stop 90 minute workout on her original compositions demonstrated, not only her prodigious technique but also her compositional skills both of which were awesome.

The material, in the main, centred around the accessible side of contemporary jazz and nobody got hurt.

Her fellow troops are all stars in their own right. Neave a two-handed virtuoso utilised all 88 notes of the Steinway (and in the right order) plus producing some harplike sounds from the piano strings. Law also soloed effectively and, as far as I could tell, without a vast array of pedals. Chaplin had relatively few solos but provided the solid foundation for the others to build on. Maddren, of course, is a man for all seasons. Whatever the genre he's your first call percussionist. 

My one quibble is that I'd have preferred 2 x 45 minute sets with an interval however, that would have meant dropping the support act ...

J2oh: Jemma Freese (keys, vocals); Jenny Walinetski (drums).

The publicity described J2oh thus: Their energetic and emotionally epic sound comes from a hybrid of hiphop/trap/dnb/electronic and contemporary jazz, using cross signatures, melodic phrasing, rhythmical hooks, complex harmony and vocal soundbites to create their sound

Just about sums it all up. Lance

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