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

18621 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 485 of them this year alone and, so far this month (June 14) 37

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

Thu 18: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 18: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 18: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 18: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 19: Joe Steels Group @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 19: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 19: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 19: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 19: Ferg’s Imaginary Big Band @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £14.33., £11.16., £8.00.
Fri 19: Martin Litton @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm. £13.01 (inc. bf); £6.50 (inc. bf); £15.00 on the door. Solo piano. CANCELLED!
Fri 19: Jools Holland’s R&B Orchestra @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Joe Webb support set.
Fri 19: Hot Club du Nord @ Warkworth Memorial Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 19: Jive Aces: The Roots of Rock & Roll @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00 + bf.

Sat 20: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tynedale Beer Festival, Corbridge. 5:00-6:00pm.
Sat 20: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 20: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 20: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Trinity Church, Gosforth, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. NCRO w. guests Dean Stockdale & Nick Ward.

Sun 21: From Lagos to Longbenton: Unity in the Community @ Sunderland Minster. From 1:30pm. Free. A multi-bill Unity in the Community event, inc. From Lagos to Longbenton.
Sun 21: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 21: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free. Trio w. Graham Hardy.
Sun 21: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 21: Magpies of Swing @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 22: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 23: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free.
Tue 23: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 24: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Sunday, December 14, 2025

A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. Dec. 13 (evening)

Paul Edis (MD, piano); Jo Harrop (vocals); Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor sax, soprano sax); Faye Thompson (alto sax, clarinet); Sue Ferris (flutes, piccolo); Graham Hardy (trumpet, flugelhorn); Jason Holcomb (trombone); Emma Fisk (violin); Andy Champion (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums)

Following on from a review of the same band playing the same tunes, even at a different venue, is a two-edged sword. So said BSH Editor-in-Chief, LL. Well, here's a third review in twenty four hours of the same show. 

Familiar as most with Hall Two, in taking a seat your correspondent did the usual: Excuse me, thanks. Excuse me, fellow concert-goers rising from their seats. Squeezing past, glancing at the seat numbers, something wasn't right. The penny dropped. Wrong seat! Wrong row! Cue the Excuse me routine in reverse. Slaloming through the cabaret table layout - the lights were about to go down - the seat was over there, wasn't it? Excuse me, thanks. Excuse me. Nope! Wrong seat! Wrong row! The house lights down, it was too late to go in search of the elusive seat. Let's sit down and bluff it...

A Jazzy Xmas made its debut the best part of a decade ago right here in Hall Two. The show hasn't changed too much over the years - the same core musicians, the set list slowly evolving, the same terrible jokes. It wouldn't be Christmas without Paul Edis and Friends. Winter Wonderland. Tick. The Christmas Waltz. Tick. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. Tick. 

The interval. Against the odds, your correspondent made it to the bar without any difficulty. A bottle of Grainger Ale. The Glasshouse now cashless throughout. 

Second set. Edis channelling Basie, a fleeting bebop quote here and there, 'proper jazz', if you like. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (LL's review of the matinee show mentioned the 'stereophonic sound', this evening it was more like 'surround sound' as the ensemble dispersed to all points) worked, it always does. José Feliciano's Feliz Navidad had the audience singing along. Note to BSH Editor-in-Chief, bandleader Edis said this evening's singalong eclipsed that of the afternoon's effort. Stick that in your pipe! 

With White Christmas, the count down was on, it would soon be Christmas.

And what of the band? Flawless. Jo, of course. Soloists Emma, Sue, Vasi, Faye, Graham and Jason, all top class. As for the rhythm section - Andy and Matt - none better. And what of bandleader P. Edis? Superb piano playing, brilliant arrangements, not forgetting the terrible jokes! 

A Jazzy Xmas continues its run of five performances across the region at Queen's Hall, Hexham on Tuesday (Dec. 16), concluding on Wednesday (Dec. 17) at Sunderland's Fire Station. Tickets are running low, book now at: 

www.queenshall.co.uk and www.thefirestation.org.uk. Russell


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