Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18383 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 247 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 17 ), 57

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

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Lewis Watson Quartet @ Gala Theatre, Durham - June 27

© Russell
Lewis Watson (tenor sax); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums)

Jazz at the Gala. Sold out. What's new? The Gala Theatre's monthly lunchtime concert series continues to attract capacity audiences. Musicians of the highest calibre are key to the series' ongoing success story and this afternoon's guests, the Lewis Watson Quartet, weren't about to buck the trend. 

A 'modern jazz' tenor saxophonist, Lewis Watson has few equals. His current quartet, comprising A-listers Mark Williams, Andy Champion and John Bradford, is a settled unit and it shows. A one hour set of mainly original compositions didn't flag for so much as a nanosecond. Earth opened the programme and its grandeur was - and is - quite something. It's as if Watson's composition has long-since become a standard, played by musicians the world over. 

© Russell
Guitarist Mark Williams, himself no mean composer, constructed fully-formed solos from a standing start, Watson giving him free reign to do just that. Whenever Andy Champion takes to the stage he cannot help but give a double bass masterclass. From start to finish, AC's time-feel and sense of swing walked them through it. And then there was John Bradford, drummer of choice for many bandleaders. 

Whether an original or a standard, Watson really gets inside a tune. The Road Ahead is a relatively new addition to the set list, it's bedding in nicely. Song for Keith (recently revived, remembering the late Keith Morris), a sparkling take on Skylark, a jaunty Sonny's Disposition (a nod to Sonny Rollins) and a Trane-like Prayer to Be, on this midsummer Friday afternoon, Durham's Gala Theatre was the only place to be. Russell          

Set list: Earth; The Road Ahead; Song for Keith; Skylark; Sonny's Disposition; Prayer to Be.
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