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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 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

17923 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 244 of them this year alone and, so far, 91 this month (March 31).

From This Moment On ...

April 2025.

Sat 05: Tenement Jazz Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 05: Sleep Suppressor @ Head of Steam, Newcastle. 5:30-6:00pm.
Sat 05: King Bees @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Raymond MacDonald & Jer Reid @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 6:00-9:30pm. £7.72., £1.00. (minimum donation). MacDonald & Reid + Objections + Yotuns.
Sat 05: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Kamasi Washington @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £33.00.
Sat 05: Vermont Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.00 (from the venue).
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 06: Learning & Participation Showcase @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm (1:00pm doors). Free. Featuring participants from Play More Jazz! Play More Folk! Blue Jam Singers & more.
Sun 06: Joe Steels Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Ferg Kilsby, Joe Steels, Ben Lawrence, Paul Susans, John Hirst.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Hooch, Quayside, Newcastle. 6:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Sun 06: Leeway @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Tannery jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Wed 09: Anatole Muster Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £17.50., £12.50. concs.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. CANCELLED?

Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.CANCELLED!
Thu 10: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £10.00., £7.00. A Globe fundraiser (all proceeds to the venue).
Thu 10: Exhaust: Camila Nebbia/Kit Downes/Andrew Lisle @ Jesmond URC, Newcastle. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. JNE.
Thu 10: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Feat. guests Ray Dales & Jackie Summers.

Fri 11: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: John Rowland Trio: The Music of Ben Webster @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Rowland (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Fri 11: Imelda May @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 11: Shunyata Improvisation Group @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:30-9:00pm. Free (donations).

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

Monday, March 31, 2025

Sam Lightwing Quartet @ the Moor Club, Heaton Moor, Stockport - March 30

© Jeff Pritchard
Sam Lightwing  (alto/tenor sax); Max Rosen (keyboards); Peter Hartley (bass); Callum Montgomery (drums).

The joys of travel when you can't drive never cease! I went to Handforth Station to catch the 5:44pm train to Stockport which was actually on time. The problem was that instead of the normal three carriages they had added some more but I still had to squeeze myself on board into very little space. The overcrowding was due to some earlier broken down trains according to an announcement. Anyway, I  eventually arrived at the Moor Club after a pizza at the nearby Crown pub, ready to listen to Sam Lightwing and  his  quartet - a group of fine musicians.
 
I was a bit surprised by the rather small audience for this show as by the 8:00pm start the jazz room was showing a few empty seats. Still I'm sure the ones who were there enjoyed what they heard as I certainly did. 

The opening tune was a favourite of mine, Henry Mancini's  Days of Wine and Roses which was done at a faster tempo than most bands play it. Sam then said he was a big admirer of the late, great, brass legend Roy Hargrove, switching from tenor to alto to go into a jazz-funk groove with Roy's  Strasbourg St Denis named after a district in Paris or perhaps a metro station, I'm not sure.  Sam played another Hargrove number in the second set entitled  Starmaker  a tune I was unfamiliar with but Sam again sounded good on alto. This reminded me of the times I spent listening to Roy Hargrove's quintet on the QE2's Charlie Parker cruise and also when Roy played at Wigan. He died too soon but his music lives on.

I thought the sound was a bit echoey from where I was sitting but that could be because there were not enough in the audience to absorb things. Maybe the fact that it was Mother's Day had an effect on the low turnout but it always amazes me why so many people listen to terrible music when they could hear some jazz. 

To conclude I enjoyed all of the tunes: 5 in the first set, 6 in the second; and everyone involved got plenty of solos.

Next week, on Sunday April 6, the Helena Summerfield Quartet will be at the Moor Club. I cannot make that gig but I will be at the gig on April 13 to see Jim Muirhead. Mike Farmer

Days of Wine and Roses; Strasbourg St Denis; Straight no Chaser; Lawns; Moment's Notice; Joy Spring; Night in Tunisia; Stella by Starlight; Aregin; Starmaker; St Thomas.
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