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. SOLD OUT!
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. CANCELLED!
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, June 19, 2024

A mid-summer's night Black Swan jam session - June 18

Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums) + David Gray (trombone, flugelhorn, vocals); Stuart Turner (guitar); Harry Keeble (tenor sax, piano); Abbie Finn (drums); Shivan Ruddick (trumpet); Paul Ruddick (alto sax); Theo Nolan (drums, vocals); Kate O'Neill (vocals); Edgar Bell (trumpet); Conor Emery (trombone); Bailey Rudd (drums); Debra Milne (vocals); John Rowland (tenor sax); Esther Coombes (alto sax, clarinet); Ian Drever (vocals); Oscar Nolan (vocals)

Midsummer, as the queue began to form in Newcastle Arts Centre's pleasant courtyard, at long last some early evening sunshine. Doors at seven, down the stairs, a front row sofa claimed, a bottle of Styrian Blonde (Great North Eastern Brewing Co.), we were all set for another Black Swan jam session.

The house trio - Stu Collingwood (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass), Tim Johnston (drums) - got things underway in somewhat unusual fashion...Stu taking a vocal on Don't Get Around Much Anymore. A summery Wave, then the first of the hopefuls...'Showtime', that's multi-brass instrumentalist David Gray, singing and playing flugelhorn on My Funny Valentine, accompanied by the excellent Stuart Turner, guitar. From here on in the merry-go-round never stopped, tenor sax star (and pianist!) Harry Keeble impressed yet again, likewise star drummer Abbie Finn on a marvellous, slow reading of I'm Old Fashioned. 

A Kate O'Neill-Stu Collingwood duo take on The Man I Love worked well (the figure of Edgar Bell lurking in the shadows). The Ruddicks were in the house, father Paul (alto sax) and son Shivan (trumpet). The Night Has a Thousand Eyes certainly upped the tempo! Debra Milne arrived, jumping aboard a rip-roaring Caravan accompanied by Conor Emery ('bone), John Rowland (tenor), Bailey Rudd (drums) and, in his element, MC Paul Grainger. Watermelon Man (Bailey's 'in-the-pocket' drumming), a brief two-song contribution from Sinatra wannabe Ian Drever, an excellent In A Mellow Tone featuring Conor E, John R and the laid back Esther Coombes (alto sax and clarinet), we were hurtling towards the finishing line. 

Oscar Nolan joined twin brother Theo to sing What a Difference a Day Makes - these guys really can sing! And then it was all aboard the A Train to Queen's, Brooklyn, into Manhattan and on to the end of the line, Westgate Road, Newcastle. Just another night at the Black Swan. Next one, Tuesday July 2, half past seven. Russell   
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