Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

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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