Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,061 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 925 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 30) 104.

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 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Fri 06: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 1/3.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Jazz Night: Bridget Metcalfe @ Saltburn House Hotel. From 6:00pm. Tickets: £40.00 (inc. a two-course meal & glass of Prosecco). Tel: 01287 658977.

Wednesday, July 02, 2025

Jammin' @ Newcastle Arts Centre - July 1

Joe Steels (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Mark Robertson (drums) + Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Chris Keegan (trumpet); Kate O'Neill (vocals); Shivan Ruddick (trumpet); Daniel Chandler (piano); Lara Hopper (trumpet); Joseph (guitar); Felix Parkin-Christie (drums); Joel Byrne-McCullough (guitar); Paul Ruddick (alto sax); David Gray (trombone); Abbie Finn (drums); Shayo Oshodi (vocals); Jimi Savage (guitar); Jamie Watkins (double bass); Robert Johnson (alto sax); Toby (vocals); Lisa (vocals); Edgar Bell (trumpet); Esther Coombes (alto sax, clarinet)

A mellow Stablemates opened the show, guitarist Joe Steels leading the way. An exploration of Body and Soul followed by a vibrant Anthropology, the house trio - Steels, MC Paul Grainger and Mark Robertson - could have played all night. However, faces old and new were massing in the wings.

Harry Keeble is neither old nor new. It wasn't so long ago HK burst onto the scene, now our tenor saxophonist is firmly in the ranks of 'A-listers'. Newcomer Chris joined HK on the stand to play A Train. Not yet out of school, Chris (trumpet) gave it his best shot, aiming for the bull's eye. Well, well, well, we've got another young talent on our hands!  

Talking of young talents...trumpeter Lara Hopper arrived, called Joy Spring and hit the bull's eye. Talking of young talents...pianist Daniel Chandler, a Black Swan debutant a matter of weeks ago, occupied the piano stool and boy, he sure can play! 

At one point during the evening MC Grainger found himself working alongside/surrounded by four seventeen somethings. This is what makes the Black Swan jam session! On a guitar-led (Joe Steels) jam session evening, it was just the thing that two other top notch six stringers chose to drop by. Long-time-no-see Joel Byrne-McCullough and Jimi Savage got up to do their thing, and do it they did. Two great players.

 And a young male vocalist, Toby, from down the coast, made his Black Swan bow singing My Funny Valentine. He'll be back, you can bet on it. It had been a varied bill of fayre, it's what makes the Black Swan jam session the success that it is. The next one - Tuesday 15th July - features a house trio comprising Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger and Bailey Rudd and, no doubt, a plethora of talent.   

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