Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Friday, March 21, 2025

Album review: Dave Panichi - The London Sessions featuring The Callum Au Big Band (self released)

Dave Panichi (MD, trombone); Simon Marsh, Graeme Blevins, Martin Williams, Nadim Teimoori, Jonathan Shenoy (reeds); Tom Walsh, Louis Dowdeswell, James Davison, Freddie Gavita (trumpets); Mark Nightingale, Robbie Harvey, Callum Au, Andy Wood (trombones); Chris Eldred (piano); Chris Hill (bass); Tommy Emmerton (guitar); Mike Smith (drums)

Australian born, internationally recognised trombonist and arranger/composer, Dave Panichi’s new CD - The London Sessions - features the UK based Callum Au Big Band. A splendid ensemble that  exuberantly  conveys Panichi’s  music to life with excitement and energy while attending to the finer details as well. According to Panichi “their dynamics were the best I’ve ever received as a composer”. High praise indeed.

Panichi emmigrated to NYC in 1981 and gained valuable experience and note in equal measure working with Buddy Rich, Dave Liebman, Mulgrew Miller and Sarah Vaughan as well as Blood Sweat and Tears, Peabo Bryson and Aretha Franklin. He returned to Sydney in 2000 earning his PhD shortly after returning to NYC in 2017 to record his debut big band album, Paradigm, which effectively leads on to The London Sessions clearly  showcasing his outstanding command of big band writing at an international level.

Each of the five tracks herein stand out in their originality and variance in styles and idioms as well as showcasing the individual strengths of the soloists on hand.

The track, Hits and Spaces is dedicated to Bob Brookmeyer (a former teacher of Panichi’s as part of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in NYC 1988-89). Panichi’s design was to “organise a piece around two elements - accents (hits) and the gaps between”. Mission accomplished. Trumpeter, Freddie Gavita scores heroically on his solo utilising compelling intervallic gestures in his melodic vocabulary.

Panichi’s plaintive and reflective trombone is present throughout on Ruby, a slow loping “swing with a backbeat” soul-ey affair. Dedicated to one of Panichi’s former students, Ruby offers a welcome contrast to the more cutting edge harmonic and rhythmic language on the other pieces.

The London Sessions is a remarkable slice of “drastic plastic” led by a world class writer with band and soloists to match.

For more information log on to www.davepanichimusic.com.

Dave Panichi's The London Sessions will be launched on April 6 at Pizza Express Soho in London. The evening with be a collaboration, the Callum Au Big Band performing a set of Callum’s music followed by a performance of Dave’s album. Frank Griffith

Gentle; Hits and Spaces; Harry Potter; Ruby; Pyldriver

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