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.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

The Chet Set @ Blaydon Jazz Club - June 19

(© Roly Veitch)
Pete Tanton (trumpet, vocals); Alan Law (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums)

1954/2023, a warm summer's evening, sitting on the terrace with a chilled beer, musicians chewing the fat. Familiar faces strolled in, nodding to other familiar faces, the recently refurbished Black Bull as welcoming as ever. Chet's/Pete's trumpet on its stand awaited the arrival of its audience. The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach is a million miles - metaphorically speaking - from Blaydon-on-Tyne but on a night like this the views from the terrace looking out across the Tyne take some beating. Chet/Pete and the boys sauntered in, the Chet Set was about to begin.

(© Russell)
Chet Baker 'tribute acts' must be ten a dime, in the case of Pete Tanton's Chet Baker homage, our man has one up on many, he's from Alabama, USA! The accent does it, the trumpet playing too, if you're into West Coast cool, Pete's your man. The More I See You, I Fall in Love Too Easily, we were listening to mid-fifties' Chet Baker. Along for the ride (Chet's/Pete's Cadillac was parked up outside the Black Bull) were buddies Alan Law, Mick Shoulder and John Bradford. They ain't American but, being jazz cats, they too possess their share of 'cool'. A short, one verse take on I Get Along Without You Very Well then But Not for Me closed out a fine first set.

(© Roly Veitch)
Let's Get Lost (Alan Law playing typically 'Alan Law' tension and release piano) resumed affairs, My Funny Valentine had to be in the set list and it was. Pete recently confided that until recently he hadn't sung the number in public (excellent trumpet playing on this one). Just Friends summed up the evening. The John Klenner/Sam M Lewis number has been performed countless times at jazz clubs up and down the land, including here at Blaydon Jazz Club. And to close, another chart often played and sung right here in the Black Bull lounge, Look for the Silver Lining. From Roly Veitch (Blaydon Jazz Club) to Pete Tanton, the music of Chet Baker lives on.      
  
The Chet Set has been well received across the region and, with dogged determination and a bit of luck, Pete and the guys could well realise the dream of taking it on the road - London, New York, West Coast... Russell
            
Set list: The More I See You; I Fall in Love Too Easily; There Will Never Be Another You; You Don't Know What Love Is; My Buddy; That Old Feeling; I Get Along Without You Very Well; But Not for Me; I Remember You; Let's Get Lost; My Funny Valentine; Time After Time; Just Friends; It Could Happen to You; Look for the Silver Lining. 
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2 comments :

Roly said...

For anyone who doesn't already know - the river just here was where Blaydon Island (aka Dent's Meadow) was situated. On this large island was held the Blaydon Races in it's heyday (1861 - 65). The island, along with others downriver at Dunston (Big Annie, Little Annie) were removed by the Tyne Improvement Commission in the 1870s, along with dredging work and 'improvements' to river banks. All for improved navigability to enable heavy goods transportation by bigger boats. The Races were revived up river at Stella Haugh in the 1880s and lasted till 1916. The Commission's work along with the growth of the railways and the building of large timber staiths signalled the end for the legendary keelmen. They had plied their trade on the river for hundreds of years. PS. I've heard there was actually a pub on Great Annie. Presumably drinkers boated across or maybe swam over in their determination to have a nice pint.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 2:21:00 pm
Roly said...

To correct myself, the larger island was King's Meadow not Big Annie. The pub on the island was Countess of Coventry.

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 5:18:00 pm

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