Bebop Spoken There

Melissa Aldana: ''Having to play a ballads album, which is something very revealing for a saxophone player, would help me to question some new aspects of how to go deeper into sound." (DownBeat May, 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

18656 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 520 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 25) 72

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

June

Tue 30: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

July

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ 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: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 02: De’Sean Jones & Blaque Dynamite feat. Urban Art Orchestra @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). De’Sean Jones (MD, tenor sax); Blaque Dynamite (Mike Mitchell, drums); Jamie Murray (drums) with UAO horns & strings.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.
Thu 02: Howlin’ Mat @ Newcastle Arts centre. 7:30pm. Free. Acoustic

Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Paul Donnelly Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Martin Taylor @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Taylor (solo guitar).

Sat 04: Spats Langham’s Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:00-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sat 04: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. Take the ‘A’ Train to Summertime: From Melody to Masterclass. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 05: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Kevin Eland (trumpet).
Sun 05: Michael Woods @ Cycle Hub, Quayside, Ouseburn. 1:30-2:30pm & 3:15-4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues guitar. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Lydia Rae Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Rae (vocals); Sam Lightwing (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Sun 05: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 05: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 05: Storytellers Street Band @ Ouseburn Woodland, Ouseburn. 5:00-6:00pm. Free. An Ouseburn Festival event.
Sun 05: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 05: Jambone @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:15-9:45pm. Free but ticketed.

Mon 06: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 06: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Wednesday, October 08, 2025

Review: Livestream from Emmet's Place Finale - Oct. 6

Emmet Cohen (piano); Russell Hall (double bass, vocals); Joe Farnsworth (drums) + Patrick Bartley (alto sax, soprano sax); Tivon Pennicott (tenor sax); Benny Benack III (trumpet); Bruce Harris (trumpet); Joey Ranieri (double bass); Joe Saylor (drums); Mar Vilaseca (vocals); John Splithoff (vocals) + Kelvin Grant (vocals, livestream sound); Alex Weitz (tenor sax, livestream video design)

Livestreaming from Emmet's Place, one more time. Since pandemic times, Emmet Cohen has been streaming from his NYC apartment. Taking a leap into the unknown, pianist Cohen began with his iPhone propped up against a stack of books, inviting the lockdown world into his home. 

As Cohen's Monday evening sessions gained more and more online viewers - hundreds, then thousands - the technology improved to the point that his apartment took on the look of a professional studio. As Covid restrictions eased, Cohen invited some of his favourite musicians to join him. From week to week there was a never-ending list of A-list New Yorkers visiting his fifth floor apartment. Eventually, the world began to return to something like normal and Emmet Cohen hit the road. From lockdown isolation to performing at some of the biggest, most famous venues on the planet - Birdland, Newport Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scott's - Cohen had hit the big time. 


This evening's livestream would be the last. The party began at 7:00pm New York time, 12 midnight BST. In excess of 2000 logged-on worldwide to listen to/watch an array of talent one last time. Bassist Russell Hall had been there from day one, all of five and half years ago. The brilliant drummer Joe Farnsworth completed the house trio for the evening. From here on in, Cohen invited some of his many friends to join him: the sensational alto saxophonist Patrick Bartley, Tivon Pennicott (tenor sax), the wonderful trumpeter/vocalist Benny Benack III, trumpeter Bruce Harris (Louis Armstrong House program director) and many more, including two behind the scenes characters - Live from Emmet's Place livestream sound engineer and vocalist Kelvin Grant and livestream video designer and tenor saxophonist Alex Weitz. It was their moment in the spotlight. A nice touch.  

It was a joyful occasion, the participants almost demob happy. Handshakes, hugs, fist pumps, smiles and brilliant musicianship, one sensed this one last livestream could go way beyond the usual allotted time. And so it did. Here in the UK, starting at midnight, Emmet Cohen and friends played and played and played. The curtain came down one final time at 2:52am (BST). 

Live from Emmet's Place has introduced countless fabulous musician to the world, some legendary, some of the new generation of superstars: Sheila Jordan, Samara Joy, Lucy Yeghiazaryan, Benny Benack III, Anat Cohen, Warren Vache, Kurt Elling, Majedi Owuso, Theo Croker, Stella Cole and many more. Thanks Emmet, it's been a blast. Russell      
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