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.

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Sunday night @ the Globe: Graham Costello’s Strata - June 18 (take two)

(© Ken Drew)
Graham Costello (drums); Fergus McCreadie (piano); Harry Weir (tenor sax, bass clarinet); Kevin Cahill (guitar); Gus Stirrat (electric bass)

Judging by the size of the audience downstairs at the Globe (~65 plus a few standing) expectations were high. Having seen Stirrat and Costello as part of Animal Society (led by Joe Williamson on guitar) at the Bridge in March 2020 (remembered as a highly energetic performance, and the last by JNE before Lockdown) along with McCreadie's energy and increasingly wide reputation added to the mix, along with Weir and Cahill (both new to me) I was sure that the sum of the parts would surely create some fireworks. 

Well, it did to some extent, but from a purist jazzer's point of view it was lacking in available spaces for individuals to step forward and focus on their own contribution. Once I realised that this was a new band/combination (to me) and they were promoting their new release Obelisk I settled into enjoying the overall sound being produced. 


I won't distinguish between the two sets, both were uninterrupted with segues between the ever changing mood and intensity of each part. I actually found it was a welcome surprise since overall it provided a more immersive feel to the ever-flowing, slowly changing rhythms and an overall immersive soundscape. 


The driving force was certainly the bandleader/composer Costello on drums, semi-hidden by the kit which included a spiral  'trash effect' cymbal, together with Stirrat on electric bass. Together they provided much of the driving force behind the strongly rhythmic sections. Both sets started quietly gradually gaining volume and complexity, taking us on a slowly developing sonic journey, morphing with near-repetition many times throughout. 


(© Ken Drew)
The accompanying photos also depict the dichotomy between individual and overall band performance. The colour photo, with no thanks to the harsh red and blue stage lighting which are tricky to expose and difficult to appreciate, but in black & white they buzz and somehow convey a sense of mood and energy which was there all the time.

So, an overall great night of music, of wider range and style than was anticipated. But I, like many I spoke to, went home happy to have experienced  Strata live.  Plus, there was a bonus for anyone able to listen to Jazz FM on their way home - at 10:45 they played  The Colossus  from their second album (2021).  This gave me the impetus to look further into their background and output since forming in 2016, and I strongly recommend people do just that. 


Costello's Bandcamp page states: 'I love minimalism, human repetition, improvisation, and cyclic grooves' and says 'Second Lives spans Reichian minimalism, semi-free jazz à la Binker and Moses, polyrhythmic math rock, and pensive, cinematic ambience.'   If only I'd read that first to save me discovering it during the performance and changing my expectations.  Enthralling stuff! Ken Drew

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