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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

17,533 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 497 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (June 23).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: The Magpies of Swing @ The Roxy, Leadgate, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. A Ginger Jitterbugs swing dance event, all welcome.

Thu 26: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Brass Instruments & the use of mutes.

Fri 27: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm.
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. ‘Time After Time’.

Sat 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Linskill Centre, North Shields. 4:00-10:30pm. Free, but ticketed (over 18s only). A multi-bill, multi-genre ‘Canny Shiels - North Shields 800’ event. Three Kings Brewery on site.
Sat 28: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 28: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 29: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Wallington, Northumberland. 12 noon-1:00pm & 2:00-3:00pm. Tel: 01670 773606. National Trust admission prices apply. ‘Tunes in the Blooms’.
Sun 29: Bal Bruch Social Dance @ As You Like It, Sandyford, Newcastle. 12:30pm. Free. Dance event with Hot Club de Heaton performing live (2:00-3:00pm). A ‘Jar on the Bar’ event.
Sun 29: Glenn Miller Orchestra UK @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 3:00pm. Ray McVay & co.
Sun 29: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 29: Zoë Gilby w. Ryton Choral Society @ Corbridge Middle School NE45 5HX. 5:30pm. £15.00. Gilby w jazz trio & choir. ‘An evening of jazz song for choir’.
Sun 29: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 29: John Wilson & the Sinfonia of London @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Greatest Hits’.
Sun 29: Out Front @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

JULY 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Sunday, September 03, 2023

Album review: Dean Stockdale Quartet - Celebrating Oscar

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

In his teens, Dean Stockdale's piano teacher pointed him in the direction of Oscar Peterson. To quote Stockdale: ...it changed my life. Fast forward a few short years, Celebrating Oscar is Stockdale's homage to the late, great Canadian pianist. 

Assisting Stockdale in what is surely a labour of love are three of the finest musicians working on the British jazz scene - guitarist Tim Williams, bassist Gavin Barras and drummer Gaz Hughes. Having heard the quartet in concert and listening to the album on repeat, one senses the four musicians are friends rather than 'bandleader plus sidemen'. Twelve tracks - nine Peterson compositions and three standards - are familiar, of course they are, this is Dean Stockdale playing Oscar Peterson! 

Blues Etude opens the recording and for the next sixty four minutes or so Celebrating Oscar is an absolute joy to listen to. Based this side of the Pennines, Stockdale can frequently be heard on the north east jazz scene, we know just how good he is. The others - Messrs. Williams, Barras and Hughes - residing Way Out West on the other side of the Pennines are top class players. We've been fortunate to have heard them here on Tyneside, not least in the company of Stockdale. A year or so ago, Tim Williams was the unknown quantity. Not anymore, guitarist Williams is as good as they come. Hear him soloing on Hogtown Blues or Noreen's Nocturne, he could be your new favourite guitarist. Bassist Gavin Barras is a tower of strength, hear him walking on Hogtown Blues, then there's Gaz Hughes, a fine, fine drummer. And then there's Night Train, superb, swinging jazz. 

Listening to the album the famous names spring to mind - Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Ed Thigpen, Martin Drew - that's how good the album is, but make no mistake, Celebrating Oscar is the work of the excellent Dean Stockdale Quartet.  

If you've long-since liked Oscar Peterson, if you were lucky enough to hear great the man in concert, you'll love Celebrating Oscar. Go hear the Dean Stockdale Quartet in concert (see the tour itinerary below), you won't be able to resist buying a CD. Buy two, one for yourself, the other one will make the ideal Christmas gift. www.deanstockdalemusic.com.
    
Blues EtudeFalling in Love with LoveBossa BeguineNigerian MarketplaceHave You Met Miss Jones?Hogtown BluesLand of the Misty GiantsWheatlandWhen Summer ComesNoreen's NocturneNight TrainHymn to Freedom.

Dean Stockdale is touring Celebrating Oscar. Forthcoming dates include: Kenilworth Jazz Club, Warwickshire (Sept. 4); Scott's Jazz Club, Belfast (Sept. 8); Arthur's Jazz Club, Dublin (Sept. 9); St Ives Jazz (Sept. 19); Hampstead Jazz Club, London (Sept. 20); Toulouse Lautrec, London (Sept. 24); Fougou Jazz, Livermead Cliff Hotel, Torquay (Sept. 26); Davenham Jazz, Cheshire (Sept. 28); Saltburn Jazz Club (Oct. 6); Le Barbizon, Paris (Oct. 26, Nicola Sabato, bass); Seven Arts, Leeds (Nov. 12, afternoon); JATP, Bradford Latvian Club (Dec. 1). Russell   

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