Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''I believe we are living in a historically embarrassing moment in American history.'' - Downbeat December 2025

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

18083 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 1047 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Dec. 14), 61.

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Sun 21: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. ‘Xmas Swingalong’. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ o2 City Hall, Newcastle. 6:00pm. £35.80., £33.25., £31.00.
Sun 21: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Live music.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ The Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:30pm. Free.

Mon 22: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 23: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Alexia Gardner @ The Townhouse, Bridge St., Morpeth. 1:30-4:30pm. ‘The A Capella Sessions’. Gardner, Paula Gardner, Alexia Hope Gardner Diamany.
Wed 24: Paul Skerritt @ Mambo Wine & Dine, South Shields. 1:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Thu 25: Alexia Gardner @ The Townhouse, Bridge St., Morpeth. 1:30-4:00pm. ‘All About the Bass Sessions’. Alexia Gardner, Paula Gardner, Jude Murphy.

Fri 26: ???

Sat 27: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Sat 27: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.

Sun 28: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Paul Skerritt @ 3 Stories, High St. West, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 28: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Jason Holcomb & co.

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 30: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £8.00., £7.00. adv.

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 31: Lil Miss Mary & the Mr Rights Trio @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. ‘Early NYE Bash’. Rockabilly, rhythm & blues.
Wed 31: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. ‘Midnight in Manhattan’ NYE party. £49.46 (inc. bf) & £29.38 (inc. bf).

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

Saturday, December 21, 2024

My top ten Christmas related songs.

I've heard lots of versions of Santa Baby, White Christmas, The Christmas Song, Winter Wonderland and Let it Snow this year. However, there are still a few Christmas songs that have yet, unlike those distant relatives, to have overstayed their welcome. Here are a few in no particular order:

Baby It's Cold Outside. The classic song of seduction although the suggestion that a drink may have been spiked (Say, what's in this drink?)  may have made it no longer politically correct. A lot of  radio stations banned it. Love this version by Ella and Louis Jordan.

Be Careful it's my Heart. (It's not my watch you're holding it's my heart - heart, watch, ticker, get it?) Isn't exactly a Xmas song but it was featured in the film Holiday Inn which was the song where White Christmas was first heard. In the clip Bing sings and Fred dances and, seemingly, wins Marjorie Reynolds' ticker.

Love You Didn't do Right by me. This great number was in the film titled White Christmas and Rosemary Clooney puts it over well. There's also a seasonal-ish reference in the lyric: You sent me a Joe who had winter and snow in his heart - nice one Irving. Over the years Alice Grace has included Love You Didn't do Right by me in her repertoire.

Some Sunday Morning. Recorded in 1945 as a duet by Helen Forrest and Dick Haymes it turned up again five years later, as George Watt once pointed out to me, as Frosty the Snowman where Ella takes the vocal. Surprisingly no legal action was taken between the two sets of composers: M.K. Jerome, Ray Heindorf & Ted Koehler (Some Sunday Morning) and Steve Nelson & Jack Rollins (Frosty the Snowman).

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? A beautiful song with a title that clocks in either 7 days too late or 358 days too soon. Great workout by Postmodern Jukebox. Composer Frank Loesser hated it being only sung in December defeating the whole idea behind the lyric.

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. Another gem from PMG covering a song by  Elmo and Patsy. The wonderful line: Now we're all so proud of grandpa, he's taking it so well, watching football, drinking beer and playing cards with Uncle Mel

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. More festive fun from PMG. Just love them! 

Last Christmas. The version by Wham! has topped  the Christmas charts for the past two years but PMJ  have reimagined it as it might have sounded if the Andrews Sisters had topped the 'Happy Cat Hit Parade' with it.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It's one of the better ones and it's what we at BSH wish all of our readers with a little help from Norah Jones and Laufey. Lance

2 comments :

Patti said...

Christmas love to Sir Lancelot. I'm sure all BSH readers will second that!

Lance said...

They ain't done no seconding so far!

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