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

From This Moment On ...

March

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: The ’58 Jazz Collective @ Hartlepool Cricket Club, West Park, 7:30pm. £7.00.
Wed 18: Brand New Heavies @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Stephen Joshua Sondheim.
Thu 19: FILM: Köln 75 @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:30pm. £10.00., £7.00., £3.00. Dir. Ido Fluk. Fictional account of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 Köln concert. A Tyne Valley Film Festival preview screening.
Thu 19: Ransom Van @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Fri 20: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Theon Cross + support @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £13.31., £11.16., £9.04. Support set feat. members of balletLORENT’s Creative Studio in association with NYJO.
Fri 20: Groove Crusade @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £15.00. CANCELLED!
Fri 20: Jason Isaacs Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £32.00.
Fri 20: Joe Steels Group @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £12.00. +bf, £15.00. on the door. A Blue Patch album tour. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 20: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ Riverdale Hall Hotel, Bellingham NE48 2JT. Tel: 01434 220254. 8:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Mark Toomey Quintet @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 21: Freetime Old Dixie Jass Band @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. FODJB (Holland).
Sat 21: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sat 21: Ray Stubbs R&B Allstars @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free.

Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22:Jack Pearce Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 23: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Monday, September 22, 2025

James Borland Quartet @ Queen's Hall, Hexham - Sept. 21

James Borland (trumpet); Nick Manz (keyboards); Ben Love (double bass); Kai Chareunsy (drums) + Joe Steels (guitar)

Sunday Jazz at Queen's Hall is going great guns. Audience numbers are holding up, if not increasing, the concerts a mix of musicians based in the region or drawn from further afield, with this afternoon's guests sharing one thing in common - the 'Birmingham Connection'. 

All four musicians, make that five with the inclusion of Sunday Jazz promoter Joe Steels, studied - and in some cases met - at Birmingham Conservatoire. Three of the quartet are currently based in London, drummer Kai Chareunsy opting to remain in 'Brum'. Across the course of two sets the audience listened to several of bandleader James Borland's compositions alongside a couple of standards. 

New Day, followed by Same Sky were from trumpeter Borland's live album Looking Backwards, Moving Forwards, recorded live at Birmingham's 1000 Trades venue. Borland, in possession of a fearless, cast iron technique, stood out front, very much the bandleader. It was immediately apparent 'old school' paper charts were nowhere to be seen, similarly, iPads were conspicuous by their absence. How could these guys play Borland's tunes, plus a couple of standards, without having to read the dots? More than impressive! 

Pianist Nick Manz we knew about (a 2022 BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist) and drummer Kai Chareunsy had been 'up north' just a few short years ago with Francis Tulip. That left Borland and bassist Ben Love as the unknown quantities. Two or three numbers into the first set, that was more than enough to know these guys could play! And the fifth member of the quartet, if you will, Joe Steels, we knew could play (twenty four hours earlier Steels tore it up at the Newcastle Jazz Festival), Borland inviting Steels to join the quartet on a couple of numbers - again, no charts, no iPads. Marvellous. 

Duke's Dream (Borland's contrafact of It Don't Mean a Thing), Monk's Ask Me Now, yes, these guys could play alright. Four fine musicians playing some great stuff, as the title of James Borland's album suggests, they were Looking Backwards, Moving Forwards.  Russell           

Set list: New Day; Same Sky; Pride; Every Time We Say Goodbye; Duke's Dream; Everything I Love; Dawn; Ask Me Now; Desire; Home.  
at

No comments :

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )

Blog Archive