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

18219 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 73 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 24), 73

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 30: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 30: Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Feat. Bill Bruford.
Fri 30: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 30: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Northern Edge Coffee, Silver St., Berwick. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00 + £1.00. bf (www.wegottickets.com). Coulthurst (trumpet); Joel Stedman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums).

Sat 31: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 31: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet + guest Bill Watson (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. adv. Gospel/soul.
Sun 01: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sun 01: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker @ the Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

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.

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

The Tannery Jam Session, Hexham - May 29

Joe Steels (guitar); Paul Susans (double bass); John Hirst (drums) + John Weaver (trumpet); Bailey Rudd (drums); Euan Hunter (guitar); ? (guitar); Bridget Enever (soprano sax)

The first in a new monthly jam session in Hexham attracted a decent crowd and a handful of musicians looking to sit-in. The Tannery at the bottom of Gilesgate is a two-room community hostelry offering three or four handpulls and a pub grub menu. Advertised as a seven o'clock start, the action got underway some twenty minutes late. The house trio - Tyne Valley residents Joe Steels, Paul Susans and John Hirst - played a couple of numbers before inviting the first of the hopefuls to play a couple of numbers. 

Apologising for his nerves, trumpeter John Weaver got stuck in with a straight ahead reading of Blue Bossa followed by Horace Silver's Song for my Father. Good stuff. Post graduate student drummer Bailey Rudd made the trip west from Tyneside. It's always good to see Bailey, one of the jazz scene's keenest. Having made his bow, John Weaver returned to play in duo with guitarist Euan Hunter. Not for them a standard, rather one of our trumpeter's original compositions. A jam session, original material, full marks!

Bassist Paul Susans and drummer John Hirst - that's what you could call a 'canny pairing' - returned to duty to accompany Messrs Weaver and Hunter on a spirited All of Me. Things were going well. Time for another pint of Wadsworth's 6X. 


Guitarist Joe Steels kept things moving along, inviting Bridget Enever to join the boys. Playing soprano, a relaxed-looking Enever shared the stand with several familiar faces. Leading from the front, Enever moved up through the gears as Caravan picked up the pace.  

To close this first Tannery jam session night, John Weaver returned to the fray to see it out with Night and Day. All things considered, Joe Steels and co will surely be delighted with how the evening went. The session will be a second Wednesday night in the month event. It's a 7:00pm start, audience and musicians warmly welcomed. Next one, June 12. Russell

1 comment :

Jon Weaver said...

Thanks for coming and for the nice review. Lookng forward to a regular session in my back-yard!

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