Bebop Spoken There

Dominick "Domo" Branch: ''Most people say drummers can't write, they're just time-keepers only beating on things. But I have a very musical brain.'' (DownBeat February, 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

18288 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 142 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Feb. 14), 42

From This Moment On ...

February

Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT! Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Squabble @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:00pm. Steve Chambers (organ); Jude Murphy (double bass, vocals); Sid White (drums).
Fri 20: Jive Aces @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors).
Fri 20: Alex Clarke w. Dean Stockdale Trio @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. Clarke w. Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder, Abbie Finn.

Sat 21: ???

Sun 22: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 22: Joe Steels Group @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Harben Kay Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Joe Steels Group @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. A Blue Patch album tour.
Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Finn-Keeble Group @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 24: Liam Oliver & Shayo Oshodi @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Geordie Jazz Jam @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Newcastle University jam session. All welcome.
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 26: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £6.50.
Thu 26: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00 adv.
Thu 26: Mick Cantwell Band @ The Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Blues.

Fri 27: Joe Steels Group @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT! A Blue Patch album tour.
Fri 27: Alan Barnes w. Mick Shoulder Trio @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Trio: Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).
Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Radio Hito + Eddie Prévost, Silvain Schmid & Tom Wheatley @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £12.22., £10.10., £8.00.
Fri 27: Giacomo Smith w Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Fri 27: Alan Barnes w. Mick Shoulder Trio @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Trio: Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums).

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

Tuesday, September 03, 2024

NYC jazz notes (3)

Day two in the Big Apple. It was 30° and getting hotter. A day to wander, to wander leisurely, taking in the sights and sounds of this wonderous metropolis. Beep! Beep! Toot! Beep! NYPD sirens, ambulances ('private', better make sure you got cover, buddy), fire trucks, one glorious cacophonous symphony. First stop Penn Station on 42nd St. 

Tyne and Wear's Metro system ain't got nothin' on this! A cavernous, cathedral-like space, thousands making their way to who knows where. We were making our way to nowhere in particular. Macy's? Yeah, why not? Think Fenwick's multiplied by 10. NYC's equivalent of the 'blue plaque' popped up here and there. On the street at Macy's, the site of Edison's claim in 1896 to the 'FIRST PROJECTED MOVING IMAGE'. Over in Paris the Lumière brothers no doubt countered, beating the American to it a year earlier (1895). The debate continues...

Standing on the corner of Joe Louis Plaza, there it was...Madison Square Garden. Fight fans will know all about the classic bouts...Rocky Marciano v. Joe Louis (1951), Ali v. Frasier (1971) and many more. Duckin' 'n' divin' we made our way to the Jazz Record Center. You need to know where this place is or you'll never find it. Thanks to BSH Editor-in-Chief, LL for his tip-off (LL had visited the place back in the day), we pressed the buzzer (#804) at 236 West 26 St. The intercom crackled, no one spoke. We pushed open the door and walked into the lobby. The janitor said: Don't take that elevator ('staff only'), take that one to the 8th floor. Would it stop on the 6th floor? Would Bogie or Cagney get in? Perhaps casting a nervous glance over their shoulder as they did so. Disappointingly, neither were in the building.

The Jazz Record Center should come with a 'wealth' warning. Like a kid in a candy store ('candy store' not 'sweet shop'), eyes feasted on 'must have' items, they were everywhere. This ain't your shiny high street store, no way. Think dusty or not-so-dusty store room with vinyl, CDs, books, magazines, the works, piled floor to ceiling. Excitedly we said: We're from England, Newcastle upon Tyne. Our New Yorker replied: Oh, yeah. Well, if he wasn't impressed, we were! A few dollars lighter, we hit the street. It would soon be time to head down to the East Village for gig no.2. Russell

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