Bebop Spoken There

Ethan Hawke (starring as Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon): ''Larry [Lorenz] Hart would be so happy that his music and his words and his poetry are still alive.'' - The Northern Echo 27 November 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

18000 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 964 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 24).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Sat 06: Sarah Spencer’s Transatlantic Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 06: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Minor Swing. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 06: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 06: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76 (inc. bf).
Sat 06: Kaberry Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £15.00. (inc. hot buffet). ‘Christmas 1945’. Kaberry Big Band, formerly Vermont Big Band.
Sat 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ Platform 1, Bedlington. 7:30pm. £6.00. Rhythm & blues.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. Xmas Party with buffet.
Sat 06: The Jive Aces @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £22.00., £20.00.
Sat 06: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. special guest Donna Hewitt (sax, clarinet).
Sun 07: Finn-Keeble Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio + Ruth Lambert.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Jason Isaacs Big Band @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 5:15pm (4:00pm doors). £21.50 (inc. bf).
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ 3 Stories, High St. West, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Support set from Play More Jazz! course participants. Note earlier start.

Mon 08: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm

Wed 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 10: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Mike Lindup Jazz Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £26.50 (inc. bf). Lindup, Yolanda Charles (bass), John Sam (drums).
Wed 10: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00.

Thu 11: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: West Coast (cool ) / Wordsearch (cool) Cool Jazz or ‘Cold’, ‘Cool’, ‘Hot’, ‘Warm’ in the title or lyrics.
Thu 11: George Robinson @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £5.42 (inc. bf). Vienna’s Voice charity evening featuring ’15 year old singing sensation the ‘Redcar Crooner’ George Robinson’. Over 35s only.
Thu 11: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. back tapes.
Thu 11: Ransom Van @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 11: Down for the Count Swing Orchestra @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:30pm. £37.70 (inc. bf). ‘Swing into Xmas’.

Fri 12: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 12: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 12: Milne Glendinning Band @ Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £15.00. ‘Xmas Soiree’.
Fri 12: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax, soprano sax); Matthew Forster (alto sax, clarinet); Sue Ferris (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone);Emma Fisk (violin); Andy Champion (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 12: Tony Hadley: Xmas Big Band Tour 2025 @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Fri 12: Alexia Gardner @ The New Ship Inn, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. 8:00pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy, Abbie Finn.
Fri 12: Jive Aces: Swingin’ Xmas Show @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm.

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

Saturday, October 14, 2023

606 Club Live Music: 2023 EFG London Jazz Festival

(Press release) Hello all you connoisseurs of culture and lovers of live music – warm greetings from the 606 in Chelsea, getting in touch regarding the 2023 EFG London Jazz Festival!

Whether measured by the number of venues presenting jazz & related styles or increases in online listening by generations Y and Z, jazz is hip, cool and very much in the vanguard in the UK. A growing audience, rising international profile and recognition in the form of this year’s Mercury Prize is further testimony to that!

 

In the midst of this thriving scene sits the 606 Club, which has been owned and run by musician Steve Rubie since 1976. Combining the best of old and new, it’s ‘USP’is presenting musicians based in the UK. As such, artists including Jamie Cullum, Gwilym Simcock, Claire Martin, Liane Carroll, Ian Shaw and more played here when they were first coming through.

 

For this EFG London Jazz Festival season, the Club has put together a lineup that honours tradition, while celebrating the present and tipping its hat to the future. 

 

Please find below brief descriptions of each of our EFG London Jazz Festival events, from 10-19 November. There have been numerous recent programme changes and additions over the last couple of weeks, so this information is ‘hot off the press’ one might say!

 

To find out more about these artists, to view videos and so on, I’ve included links to the individual event pages on the 606 website. You may also view the Festival schedule at a glance HERE. 

 

Fri 10th: 9:00pm - Imaani & Special Guest Chris Ballin               

Tonight the Club features Imaani, plus her Special Guest, Chris Ballin. Imaani has been a member of the iconic jazz funk band Incognito for over a decade, while Chris was featured on two of Incognito's albums, 'Beneath the Surface' & 'Inner Shade'. This promises to be a world-class night of soul & R&B! “The magnificent vocals of Imaani” DJ Times


Sat 11th: 9:00pm - The Peter King Memorial Sax Summit feat. Mornington Lockett, Tom Smith, Trish Clowes & Nat Facey with the Will Barry Trio.                  Named in honour of the late Peter King, we present a breathtaking 4-sax front line featuring Mornington Lockett, Tom Smith, Trish Clowes & Nat Facey, accompanied by award-winning pianist Will Barry and his trio. “Lockett…tremendous fluency and drive” Evening Standard

 

Sun 12th: 1:30pm - Lunchtime Special: World Heart Beat & the Julian Joseph Academy Present “Together We Go Forward”       

World Heart Beat and the Julian Joseph Jazz Academy present 'Together We Go Forward”, a special concert from two of the country's leading music academies. To discover the next generation of jazz musicians, this is the gig to go to!

 

8:00pm - Jo Harrop & Paul Edis-Autumn Serenade: When Autumn Turns to Winter 

Rising star vocalist Jo Harrop, pianist/Musical Director Paul Edis and their band present a programme based upon their 2023 Parliamentary Jazz Award-winning Jazz Album of the Year, “When Winter Turns to Spring”. "This girl was born to sing jazz!" Blues & Soul


 Mon 13th: 8:00pm -   Emily Francis Trio                                         

With a fascinating mix of influences including 60s & 70s-era electronic jazz, psychedelia and even prog rock, Emily Francis-piano/keys, Trevor Boxall-bass & Jamie Murray-drums have created a harmonically rich landscape of melody and groove. “…a thing of rare beauty” Jazzwise


 Tue 14th: 8:00pm – Kaidi Akinnibi (EP Launch)               

From South London, up-and-coming saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi has already worked with an eclectic variety of artists including the likes of Tom Misch, Black Midi, Blue Lab Beats & Mark Kavuma’s Banger Factory. A standout member of London’s creative, vibrant jazz scene.


Wed 15th: 8:00pm - Shez Raja ft Soweto Kinch                            

Virtuoso bassist Shez Raja is a dynamic live performer mixing Indo-jazz, funk and groove styles. Featuring special guest, MOBO-award-winning saxophonist Soweto Kinch.  “The hip-shaking mix of Eastern song lines and funky Western dance-beats never wavers” **** Evening Standard


Thu 16th: 8:00pm-Adrian Cox Quintet 'The New Orleans Clarinet' + Special Guest Giacomo Smith  

A rare opportunity to hear internationally acclaimed clarinettist Adrian Cox in his only UK show until 2024, joined by his very good friend, fellow clarinet player & Kansas Smitty’s bandleader, Giacomo Smith. A joyful celebration of this quintessentially swinging, mainstream jazz instrument.


 Fri 17th: 9:00pm - Samara with Special Guest: Adriano Adewale           

“Samara” is a jazz/Latin group led by the 606 Club's Steve Rubie. Featuring Brasilian singer Carolina Lelis, their special guest is the Afro-Brasilian percussionist/composer Adriano Adewale (AKA Trio, Bobby McFerrin).“Cracking Latin-jazz quintet” Time Out; ”Adewale a priceless asset” Guardian


 Sat 18th: 9:00pm – Byron Wallen: Tribute to Andrew Hill          

A leading light of the UK jazz world, trumpeter & composer Byron Wallen has had an extraordinary career. Recipient of the BBC’s ‘Innovation in Jazz’ & the Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists, this new show will explore the music of the late great pianist/composer Andrew Hill, with whom Byron played in his last Quintet.


Sun 19th: 1:30pm - Lunchtime Special: Rachel Sutton, Jo Harrop & Eileen Hunter: "One More Time                         

Three of the 606 Club’s favourite singers, Rachel Sutton, Jo Harrop & Eileen Hunter, perform timeless vocal-led jazz standards. A delightful and fun-filled afternoon! “Suttona must see” Cabaret Scenes; “Harropsinging sensation” Bebop Spoken Here; “Hunteramazing musician” Jazz FM.

 

8:00pm - Liane Carroll, Ian Shaw & Claire Martin: Benefit for Baby Robin     

Liane Carroll, Ian Shaw & Claire Martin are three of the UK's finest jazz performers. They have united to support Robin Samuel (a twenty-month-old child with neuroblastoma, an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer), for this special benefit event.

Laura G Thorne, Marketing Manager 606 Club

1 comment :

Chris Kilsby said...

Also playing (but not making the cut for the press release!) Two northern bands on Wed 15 Nov: Vipertime (Leeds) and Knats (Newcastle, Hexham and London!): https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/vipertime-knats

And of course Knats back at Glasshouse (will always be Sage to me) this Friday!

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