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

19,012 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 876 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 16) 55.

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 17: SunOrbitUs @ Culture House, Sunderland. 11:00am - 5:00pm. Closing event in a year-long piece of music. 11:00am-1:00pm Improvisation workshop w. Faye MacCalman; 2:00-5:00pm Collective Improvised Performance by Sunderland residents. SOLD OUT!
Sat 17: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 17: Martin Taylor @ Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £48.72; £43.37. Solo guitar. SOLD OUT!

Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Creakin’ Bones & the Sunday Dinners @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Jump jive.
Sun 18: Guisborough Big Band @ Redcar Rugby Club. 5:00-8:00pm. ‘Charity Big Band Birthday Bash’ in aid of Parkinson’s UK & Young Sounds UK. Free (donations on the door).
Sun 18: Martin Taylor @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £23.30. Solo guitar.
Sun 18: Ben Crosland Quartet with Steve Waterman @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Sue Ferris Quintet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Pete Tanton (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Tue 20: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ Queen’s Head, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Tickets from Tully’s, Rothbury. Coquetdale Jazz. Note change of venue.
Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Scotty Adair.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: FILM: Blue Moon @ Washington Arts Centre. 1:00pm. £4.50 (inc. bf). Biopic of lyricist Lorenz Hart.
Wed 21: De'Sean Jones’ Urban Art Orchestra @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00.; £5.00. student, unwaged; free to Mercury Awards ticket holders. De'Sean Jones (tenor sax, EWI); Tjoe Man Cheung (guitar); Mikele Montolli (double bass) + others TBA.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 21: Roby Glod-Steve Sewell Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Thu 22: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 22: Mercury Prize @ Utility Arena Newcastle. 8:00pm. £60.25.; £48.75. Line-up inc. Knats.
Thu 22: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Bandstand!, Exhibition Park, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Tickets: £10.20 (inc. bf) via Instagram. Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Thu 22: Olly Styles Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.75.

Fri 23: Sara Oschlag w. Arnie Somogyi Trio @ The Lit & Phil. 1:00pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (piano); Arnie Somogyi (double bass); John Hirst (drums). SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Emma Fisk’s Hot Club du Nord @ Gala Theatre, Durham. 1:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Maja Bugge & Dave Evans @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.
Fri 23: Knats @ King Street Social Club, North Shields. 7:00pm. £17.00., £14.70., £11.30., £5.50. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.
Fri 23: Sara Oschlag & Arnie Somogyi w. Ben Lawrence @ Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. Sara Oschlag (vocals); Ben Lawrence (keyboards); Arnie Somogyi (double bass).
Fri 23: Ronnie Scott’s Soho Songbook @ Redhills, Durham. 8:00pm. James Pearson (piano); Sam Burgess (double bass); Chris Higginbottom (drums); Alex Garnett (sax); Polly Gibbons (vocals). Durham Jazz Festival. SOLD OUT!
Fri 23: SwanNek + Jacob Egglestone @ Fabio’s Bar, Durham. 9:00pm. Durham Jazz Festival.

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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