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

18982 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 846 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 8.) 25.

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 10: Catfish Keith @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £19.00. + bf. Jumpin’ Hot Club.

Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Feat. guest Jack ‘Banjo’ Courtney (trumpet).
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Harry Christelis Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Jazz Co-op-JNE co-promotion.

Mon 12: Jack Pearce Quintet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 12: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. Julija Jacenaite (vocals).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 4:45pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 14: A Night of Stevie Wonder @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 14: NW FRQNC @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. Selina Albright, Gianni Vancini.
Wed 14: Jacob Egglestone Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 15: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 15: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 15: Leah Kirk: A Strange Affair @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Leah Kirk (vocals); Alan Law (keyboards); Paul Grainger (double bass).
Thu 15: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. PJO w. guest Graham Hardy (trumpet).

Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Ancient Infinity Orchestra @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 16: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01. adv.; £15.00. on the door. Old Black Cat Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Repas 7 by Night, West St., Berwick. 8:00pm. Free.

Saturday, November 29, 2025

Album review: Tatum Langley - Tatum's Swingin' Session !!! (self-released)

Tatum Langley (vocals); Brett T. Dean (M.D., trumpet); Roger Ingram, Will Schmalbeck, John Dorhauer, Andrew Egizio (trumpets); Nick Roach, Andrew Meyer, Michael Nearpass, Ben Pederson, Ben Shanbaum (trombones); Ted Holtz, Ian Letts, Andy Schlinder, Bill Rank, Michael Kennedy, Karli Bunn, Jimmy Farace (saxes); Stuart Seale, Austyn Monk (piano); Ben Crino (guitar); Jack Sundstrom, Crystal Rebone (bass); T.J. Thompson (drums)

Does the front cover look familiar? You're damn right it does! Does the title, Swingin' Session !!! sound familiar? Check, you've got it - a playful take on Sinatra's 1961 Reprise album  of the same name and, like the original, it's a ring-a-ding-dinger!

Tatum has the ability to sell a song like few of her contemporaries can. Perfect pitching, jazzy phrasing, an amazing range  and the ability to do what it is says on the tin - swing! It comes as no surprise to find out that she has done tours of duty with PMJ.

The twenty piece Shout Section Big Band (confusingly abbreviated to SSBB*) dish out punchy solos (soloists in red), leaping out from well-crafted arrangements by such legends as Frank Foster, Frank DeVol, Jon Harpin, Shorty Rogers, Neal Hefti and Buddy Bregman plus, from within, Jon Dorhauer, all contributing to the overhaul picture.

To say Tatum can sing and swing is like saying Ella could hold a tune. Highly Recommended (the capital R is intentional). Lance 

Deedle's Blues; Ridin' High; That's my Style; All the Cats Join in; You Came a Long Way From St. Louis; Swingiin' on Nothing; Sing; Smooth Sailing; Aitchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe; I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You; A Hard Day's Night; Pass Me By; The Song is Ended; You're the Top

*The north east's Strictly Smokin' Big Band also collapse to SSBB.

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