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

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 22: Nubiyan Twist @ Digital, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £28.75 (inc. bf).
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 22: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 7:30pm. Date, time & admission TBC.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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.
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.
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!

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

The Abbie Finn Trio: Stotties for Three album launch @ The Soho Pizza Express - Jan. 15

Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums)

Stotties for Three. Northerners get it, indeed consume them, stotties, that is. Southerners, on the other hand, that's another matter. The Abbie Finn Trio arrived on Dean Street in Soho determined to educate, inform and, most importantly, entertain. Would the current cold snap deter some 'southern softies' from venturing out? Would they stay home, opting to watch Coronation Street instead? Your northern correspondent is happy to report the Pizza Express attracted a sizeable crowd, there to to listen to Abbie Finn, Harry Keeble and Paul Grainger. 

Northern supporters turned out in force for Abbie Finn's album launch. Stotties for Three, Dean Street Pizza Express, London. How good is that?! Stotties for Three comprises eight tracks, all written by drummer and bandleader Finn. During the course of two sets the album would be performed in its entirety, interspersed with one or two back catalogue numbers, by Finn's long established trio featuring Harry Keeble, tenor sax, and Paul Grainger, double bass. Opening with Mardi Groove, Finn hit a groove right out of New Orleans. At its end, the applause suggested the audience liked what it was hearing. 

210 maintained the momentum (bassist Grainger soloing), Victor Feldman's Seven Steps to Heaven hit the spot, Keeble in turbo-charge mode, Finn soloing, the Dean Street regulars showing their approval. A lyrical Into the Dene took it down, Sheila's Song (for Finn's grandmother) found Finn on the hi-hat, things were going well. To close a fine first set Finn told the story about her determination, as a child, to be a pirate not a princess. And so we heard Pirates Not Princesses!

Sometime later the house lights lowered, it was time for the second set. Tenor saxophonist Keeble brought in Caravan, Grainger and Finn hopping aboard as Keeble stretched out, Finn soloing once more. The applause said it all. Nee Messin' required a word of explanation/translation, after all, we (we northerners) were down in 'the Smoke'. And, nee messin', Finn was straight on the ride cymbal (nee messin', like). Bassist Grainger soloed, drummer Finn, on the snare, taking it out. Great stuff! 

Don Grolnick's Nothing Personal (from the trio's debut album Northern Perspective) went down well with the Dean Street crowd, Keeble burning a la Brecker, the trio in and out of a swing time feel, Finn firing on all cylinders. A louche, bluesy feel to Where Are We Going for Lunch? changed it up, then Catching the Wind, and before we knew it Abbie Finn was introducing the final number of the night. Signing off with Night and Day (a good choice), the Abbie Finn Trio made many new friends here at the Dean Street, Soho Pizza Express. 

Set list: Mardi Groove; 210; Seven Steps to Heaven; Into the Dene; Sheila's Song; Pirates Not Princesses; Caravan; Nee Messin'; Nothing Personal; Where Are We Going for Lunch?; Catching the Wind; Night and Day. 

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