Bebop Spoken There

Ethan Hawke (starring as Lorenz Hart in Blue Moon): ''Larry [Lorenz] Hart would be so happy that his music and his words and his poetry are still alive.'' - The Northern Echo 27 November 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

18000 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 964 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 24).

From This Moment On ...

DECEMBER 2025

Sat 06: Sarah Spencer’s Transatlantic Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 06: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Minor Swing. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 06: Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 06: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76 (inc. bf).
Sat 06: Kaberry Big Band @ The Seahorse, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £15.00. (inc. hot buffet). ‘Christmas 1945’. Kaberry Big Band, formerly Vermont Big Band.
Sat 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ Platform 1, Bedlington. 7:30pm. £6.00. Rhythm & blues.
Sat 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. Xmas Party with buffet.
Sat 06: The Jive Aces @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £22.00., £20.00.
Sat 06: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 07: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. special guest Donna Hewitt (sax, clarinet).
Sun 07: Finn-Keeble Group @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 07: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio + Ruth Lambert.
Sun 07: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 07: Jason Isaacs Big Band @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 5:15pm (4:00pm doors). £21.50 (inc. bf).
Sun 07: Paul Skerritt @ 3 Stories, High St. West, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 07: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Support set from Play More Jazz! course participants. Note earlier start.

Mon 08: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 09: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm

Wed 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 10: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 10: Mike Lindup Jazz Trio @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £26.50 (inc. bf). Lindup, Yolanda Charles (bass), John Sam (drums).
Wed 10: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00.

Thu 11: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: West Coast (cool ) / Wordsearch (cool) Cool Jazz or ‘Cold’, ‘Cool’, ‘Hot’, ‘Warm’ in the title or lyrics.
Thu 11: George Robinson @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £5.42 (inc. bf). Vienna’s Voice charity evening featuring ’15 year old singing sensation the ‘Redcar Crooner’ George Robinson’. Over 35s only.
Thu 11: Paul Skerritt @ Chakh Dhoom, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Indian restaurant. Skerritt w. back tapes.
Thu 11: Ransom Van @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 11: Down for the Count Swing Orchestra @ Middlesbrough Town Hall. 7:30pm. £37.70 (inc. bf). ‘Swing into Xmas’.

Fri 12: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 12: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 12: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 12: Milne Glendinning Band @ Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £15.00. ‘Xmas Soiree’.
Fri 12: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax, soprano sax); Matthew Forster (alto sax, clarinet); Sue Ferris (flute, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone);Emma Fisk (violin); Andy Champion (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 12: Tony Hadley: Xmas Big Band Tour 2025 @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Fri 12: Alexia Gardner @ The New Ship Inn, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. 8:00pm. Gardner, Alan Law, Jude Murphy, Abbie Finn.
Fri 12: Jive Aces: Swingin’ Xmas Show @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm.

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

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Press release: The Glasshouse to host a major weekend of the BBC Proms

The Glasshouse – the North East’s thriving home for music – will host a major weekend of the BBC Proms this summer, led by Royal Northern Sinfonia and showcasing a bold mix of orchestral scale, pop innovation and homegrown talent 

  • Now in its fourth year, the partnership between BBC Proms and The Glasshouse has grown into a fully-formed regional festival and a national cultural moment.
  • At the heart of the weekend is Royal Northern Sinfonia, leading symphonic concerts, family favourites and one-of-a-kind collaborations.
  • The long weekend includes a major homecoming collaboration between JADE and Royal Northern Sinfonia with Robert Ames presented in partnership with BBC Radio 1, Dinis Sousa at the helm of Mendelssohn’s major choral symphony Lobgesang, and a special edition of the nightly Radio 3 jazz programme ’Round Midnight with Soweto Kinch, from The Fire Station in Sunderland.
  • This year sees The Glasshouse become the first BBC Proms venue outside of London to host TV broadcasts – a historic first for the BBC Proms.
  • Tickets for the BBC Proms at The Glasshouse are on sale now. Tickets for JADE’s one-night-only orchestral collaboration with Royal Northern Sinfonia go on sale on Wednesday 28 May at 12noon. BBC Proms in the North East returns to The Glasshouse for a bold weekend of world-class music-making for everyone. Running from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 July, the weekend sees The Glasshouse transformed into a festival hub, with symphonic works, boundary-breaking collaborations and joyful family performances. 

LISTINGS 
 
 

Thursday 24 July 2025 – The Fire Station, Sunderland 
‘Round Midnight with Soweto Kinch 
Time: 20:00 
Broadcast: BBC Radio 3 (deferred) 
Performers: Soweto Kinch, Theo Croker, Joe Webb Trio, Rivkala  

Friday 25 July 2025 – Sage One, The Glasshouse 
JADE & Royal Northern Sinfonia 
Time: 20:15 
Broadcast: BBC Radio 3 (live), BBC iPlayer/BBC TV, BBC Radio 1 Sunday 27 July, 8pm.

Performers: JADE, Robert Ames (conductor), Royal Northern Sinfonia 
 

Saturday 26 July 2025 – Sage Two, The Glasshouse

Angeline Morrison: The Sorrow Songs 
Time: 17:30 
Broadcast: BBC Radio 3 (live) 
Performers: Angeline Morrison + special guests Eliza Carthy and Alex Neilson 

 

Saturday 26 July 2025 – Sage One, The Glasshouse

Bach and Mendelssohn with Royal Northern Sinfonia 
Time: 19:30 
Broadcast: BBC Radio 3 (live), BBC iPlayer/BBC TV 
Performers: Dinis Sousa (conductor), David Fray (piano), Hera Hyesang Park (soprano), Adèle Charvet (mezzo-soprano), Benjamin Hulett (tenor), Royal Northern Sinfonia, Chorus of Royal Northern Sinfonia, Voices of the River’s Edge, Huddersfield Choral Society 

 

 

Sunday 27 July 2025 – Sage One, The Glasshouse

CBeebies Wildlife Jamboree  
Times: 13:30 & 16:00 
 
Performers: Royal Northern Sinfonia + CBeebies presenters Chantelle Lindsay and Puja Panchkoty. 

 

Sunday 27 July 2025 - Sage Two, The Glasshouse 
Sean Shibe and Friends 
Time: 15:00 
Broadcast: BBC Radio 3 (live) 
Performers: Sean Shibe (guitars), Alphonse Cemin (conductor), Ema Nikolovska (mezzo-soprano),  George Barton (percussion), Sam Wilson (percussion), Iris van den Bos (percussion), Adam Walker (alto flute), Emma Wernig (viola), Matthew Hunt (clarinet), Mira Benjamin (violin) and Colin Alexander (cello). 

 

There will also be a BBC Young Composer workshop in collaboration with BBC Introducing on Saturday 26 July, where under-18s can apply to take part in a composition workshop to develop their music with professional artists. For further information, visit bbc.co.uk/youngcomposer  

Standing promming tickets remain at £8. Last year, over 5,000 people attended the Proms in Gateshead, with hundreds more enjoying the free performances on the concourse. Among them, 3,500 experienced the BBC Proms for the very first time. Thousands more tuned in to national broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 through the weekend which featured 250 musicians, with over half of them from the North East. 

The Proms weekend is a major cultural moment for Newcastle Gateshead, positioning it as one of the UK’s most exciting music destinations. It builds on the momentum of recent milestones – from the MOBO Awards coming to the region earlier this year to Newcastle newly announced as host for the Mercury Prize, and stars like JADE and Sam Fender (soon to headline two sold-out NUFC stadium gigs).  

 

Sport and music are central to the North East’s identity - and with artists like Sam and JADE proudly repping the region nationally, this moment shines a spotlight on what the region has to offer. 

Recent UK Music data showed that music tourism to the North East rose by 29% in 2023 – and events like this are helping to drive that further. With The Glasshouse at the helm, the Proms weekend reflects a region on the rise. 

 

Tamsin Austin, Venue Director at The Fire Station said: “We’re thrilled to be part of the BBC Proms’ growing regional programme and to see The Fire Station showcase such extraordinary jazz talent on a national platform. From fearless international artists to rising stars from our own region, this Prom reflects what we’re all about – world-class music, great nights out and putting Sunderland on the cultural map.” 

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