Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Fri 09: The House Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 09: Nauta @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Trio: Jacob Egglestone, Jamie Watkins, Bailey Rudd.
Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Warren James & the Lonesome Travellers @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 09: The Blue Kings @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv.). All-star band.

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

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

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Press release: Edinburgh Jazz Bar to reopen

Dear Friends,

We have some very exciting news we are now in a position to share with you all.

The Jazz Bar's assets, name, social media and license have been purchased by a new company called The Jazz Bar Edinburgh CIC. This nonprofit social enterprise channels all operating surplus back into the venue, with all assets locked into and owned by the social enterprise, not private individuals.

The Community Interest Company has been set up by Nick and Justyna Mushlin, a husband and wife team with decades of experience and deep connections to the bar. When it became apparent that The Jazz Bar would shut, they took it upon themselves, with help and support from the music community surrounding the bar, to purchase the assets. Their aim was to start a new venture to serve the community they had been a part of for so long, continuing the legacy that the old Jazz Bar had created and nurtured for many years.

The challenges faced by live music venues in recent years have led to more and more closures. With huge help and support from Music Venue Trust (MVT), we have opted to launch as a CIC to benefit from some of the advantages that this type of grass-roots music venue currently enjoys, including 75% rebate on business rates and VAT exemption on ticket sales.

Former staff, sound engineers, and musicians dug deep to collectively raise enough money to enable The Jazz Bar CIC to purchase the assets, name, and license when the opportunity arose. A testament to the strength of the JB community!

We would not have been able to do any of this if it weren't for the love that runs deep for The Jazz Bar and all it stands for; for the family that was built from Bill Kyle's dream. So we are now at a place where we are asking for support to get this new venture off the ground. We have set up a crowdfunder to help with startup costs and to repay some of the short-term personal loans taken out. The social enterprise is established, and for the essential assets that we need have been secured, but we still need help from the community, especially with the Jazz & Blues Festival and the Fringe just around the corner.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/.../the-new-jazz-bar-saving...

We are full of enthusiasm, confidence and determination that, together, we can build an even stronger community. Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to live music in Edinburgh. We hope to be in a position to welcome you to the new Jazz Bar very soon!

Warmest regards,

The Jazz Bar CIC Team

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