Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. St Thomas & Bésame Mucho. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Side Cafe Oᴙkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Table reservations: 0191 477 3970.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 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

Monday, April 08, 2024

Ruth Lambert sings Michel Legrand @ Central Bar, Gateshead - April 7

Ruth Lambert (vocals, guitar); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums)

Central Bar's April session featured Ruth Lambert singing Michel Legrand. As our vocalist observed, Michel Legrand isn't exactly the Great American Songbook. All the more reason to get along to Half Moon Lane to see what Lambert, pianist Alan Law, bassist Paul Grainger and drummer Tim Johnston would make of it. 

Ruth Lambert strumming a guitar isn't unheard of, although it did come as something of a surprise when the boys in the band sat out the first number, listening with the rest of us, to Lambert singing Legrand's 'big hit', The Windmills of Your Mind. An unusual opening but no harm done, after which the 'boys' - Law, Grainger and Johnston - assumed their usual positions to accompany Lambert in making the case for Legrand's compositions being considered worthy of GASbook status.

After the Rain opened with Paul Grainger's resonant bass playing (Legrand co-wrote the number with the Bergmans), Once Upon a Summertime (notably sung by Blossom Dearie), The Umbrellas of Cherbourg proved to be the afternoon's swingerooney with Lambert at her best, not to mention the swinging piano playing of Alan Law, kicked along by P Grainger and T Johnston. You Must Believe in Spring heard Lambert at her up-close best. It's more than likely  Ms Lambert will find a place in her regular pad for one or two numbers by Monsieur Legrand.      
Second set, the GASbook. Hearing Ruth Lambert sing I've Got the World on a String (one of Ms Lambert's favourite songs) through to It Could Happen to You was akin to attending a vocal masterclass. It had been a grand - Michel Legrand - afternoon. Russell

First set included: The Windmills of Your Mind (The Thomas Crown Affair); After the Rain; Once Upon a Summertime; The Umbrellas of Cherbourg; Summer of '42; You Must Believe in Spring (Young Girls of Rochefort).

Second set included: I've Got the World on a String; Love Me Like a Man; It Could Happen to You.
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