Bebop Spoken There

John McLaughlin: ''It was then that Coltrane came along and single-handedly brought this dimension of spirituality into jazz. It was a pivotal experience to me.'' (DownBeat September, 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

18982 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 846 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 8.) 25.

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

October.

Sat 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Feat. guest Jack ‘Banjo’ Courtney (trumpet).
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Harry Christelis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Jazz Co-op-JNE co-promotion.

Mon 12: Jack Pearce Quintet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 12: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Julija Jacenaite (vocals).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 4:45pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: NW FRQNC @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. Selina Albright, Gianni Vancini.
Wed 14: Jacob Egglestone Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 15: Leah Kirk: A Strange Affair @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Leah Kirk (vocals); Alan Law (keyboards); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Thu 15: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. PJO w. guest Graham Hardy (trumpet).

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Ancient Infinity Orchestra @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 16: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01. adv.; £15.00. on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Repas 7 by Night, West St., Berwick. 8:00pm. Free.

Tuesday, April 08, 2025

Press release: Fini Bearman - Last Night of the World (Pastiche Recordings)

Singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer Fini Bearman will release her fifth studio album Last Night Of The World in April 2025, via UK record label Pastiche Recordings. Having built an impressive profile as an imaginative and expressive soloist and collaborator, gaining nominations for London Jazz Singer of the Year from the Global Music Foundation and a Deutsche Jazz Preis for vocal album of the year to name just two of many accolades, Fini Bearman presents her very best work to date, which is a culmination of the vast experience and burgeoning talent that she has gained and cultivated throughout her career so far.

On Last Night Of The World, Fini Bearman brings together an ensemble of musicians at the forefront of the jazz scene, featuring Tom Cawley, Robin Mullarkey, James Maddren, Matt Calvert and Al Cherry, together with guests Alice Zawadzki, Zosia Jagodzinska, Gareth Lockrane, George Crowley and Gwilym Simcock. The recording is a veritable feast of musical brilliance, projecting strong jazz and folk influences steeped in lyricism, with a depth that is bound to attract discerning music lovers with distinguished tastes.

 

Currently a professor of Jazz Voice and Songwriting at London’s prestigious Guildhall School and recent committee member of the Ivor Novello Awards, Fini’s 2020 album ‘La Loba’ received glowing reviews and praise from peers and critics alike, with Jazzwise Magazine describing her as “one of contemporary music’s most imaginative song stylists” and the album itself as “A thing of unsurpassed beauty. One of the most memorable collections of self-penned songs you’ll hear this year.” Though Last Night Of The World charts a different course, it is no less magical, signifying an advancement and development unique to the artist herself.

 

With a series of tour dates* lined up for Summer 2025, Fini will also run free songwriting workshops alongside each performance, aimed at equipping aspiring musicians/songwriters and non-performing creatives with the skills to develop their unique artistic voices. as Fini states: “As a new mother and as someone who has experienced grief and loss, I can testify to the power of songwriting both as a means of processing emotional trauma and as a valid form of self-expression & empowerment.” Unlike other disciplines, songwriting is something that everyone has the potential to do, given the right guidance and opportunity.

 

Fini Bearman’s musical excellence and raw emotion manifest themselves perfectly on Last Night Of The World, providing listeners with something truly special to experience. The proof in in the listening!


*15th May  @ Hot Numbers                          Cambridge

4th June  @ The Flute & Tankard                  Cardiff

5th June @ The Bebop Club                          Bristol

9th June @ The Traverse Theatre                   Edinburgh

10th June, Venue TBC                                    Glasgow

12th June @ SoundCellar                               Poole

15th June @ The Blue Rooms                        Lincoln

4th July  @ 1000 Trades                                 Birmingham

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