Bebop Spoken There

Christian McBride: ''We knew back in the day that Emmet [Cohen] had it.'' (DownBeat July, 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

18680 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 544 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 3) 8

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

July

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: Strictly Smokin’ quintet + House of the Black Gardenia @ Sunset Festival, Transmission Dynamics, Cramlington. 5:00-9:30pm. Free. Tickets: Eventbrite. Multi-bill.
Sat 04: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00pm. Free.
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).

Tue 07: Alan Law Trio @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:30pm. Free.
Tue 07: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Lawrence (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Tue 07: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 08: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 08: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 08: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 08: Sax on the Tyne @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £8.00. Feat. Sax on the Tyne & St George’s Community Choir.
Wed 08: Abbie Finn Trio @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE.

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 09: 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 10: Swing Manouche @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Olly Styles & Jacob Egglestone @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 10: Archipelago @ Lubber Fiend, Newcastle. 7:00pm . New album fundraiser gig.
Fri 10: King Bees @ Rebel Yell, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Chicago blues.

Sunday, December 07, 2025

Giacomo Smith Big Band: Ellington's Nutcracker Suite & More @ Ronnie Scott's - Dec. 4

Giacomo Smith (alto sax, clarinet); Rico Tomasso (trumpet, vocals), Tom Walsh, Pete Horsfall, Laura Jurd (trumpets); Zach Sholapurkar (alto sax); Alec Harper (tenor sax); Alex Garnett (tenor sax, clarinet); Jessamy Holder (baritone sax); Dan Higham, Joe Evans, James Wade Sired (trombones); Joe Webb (piano); Honey Boulton (guitar); Anders Fjeldsted (double bass); Snorre Kirk (drums)

Kansas Smitty's lockdown livestreams rapidly became unmissable occasions (jazz fans connecting with old friends, some making new online friends*) and the 2020 Kansas Smitty's Big Band Christmas Day stream recreating Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite has taken its place in the archive. It's a gem.  

Fast forward to December this year (2025). A Thursday evening sold out first house, a sold out second house, Ronnie Scott's was doing good business. Forty eight hours later (Saturday) it would be the same story - two sold out performances. This Thursday evening first house, featuring Giacomo Smith's Big Band (formerly Kansas Smitty's Big Band), signalled the start of the festive season. 

The Opener for starters. Royal Academy of Music alto saxophonist Zach Sholapurkar the featured soloist, bandleader Smith placing his trust in the student to deliver the goods in front of a packed house. Terrified? Nerves of steel? Either way, ZS didn't disappoint! 

For some forty five minutes or so, the big hitters took it in turns to stand in the spotlight. A couple of Giacomo Smith originals, two or three standards, the soloists impressed, of course they did: Rico Tomasso (trumpet), singing A Train, by way of Kansas Smitty's, NYC and London, Alec Harper (tenor sax), Pete Horsfall singing Santa Claus is Coming to Town, it's a winning package.   

The 'Great' Danes - drummer Snorre Kirk and bassist Anders Fjeldsted - in tandem with Mercury Prize nominee, pianist Joe Webb, and guitarist Honey Boulton could be tagged the 'Dream Team', simply fabulous. 

Tchaikovsky, Ellington, Strayhorn and Smith. Only one of them could be here in person this evening. The Ellington-Strayhorn Nutcracker Suite, from 1960, formed the centrepiece of the evening, directed by G. Smith. The Overture, Sugar Rum Cherry, Volga Vouty (Joe Evans, trombone, the soloist), to the closing section, Arabesque Cookie (notable for Smith once again putting his faith in his fellow alto saxophonist Sholapurkar to take a final solo).

Giacomo Smith's now annual Nutcracker Suite concerts here on Frith Street (four of them this year) are always advance sell outs. It's hardly surprising - the band, the music, the 'Big Day' fast approaching, it all adds up to a great night out. Invariably, the night overruns. This evening's first house wasn't about to buck the trend. As trombonist Dan Higham made his way to the front of stage for a closing solo feature, Giacomo Smith declared The Christmas Song to be his favourite Christmas song. Perfect.                                 

* Post-lockdown, some online friends subsequently met up at gigs the length and breadth of the country - friendships forged out of adversity. Russell
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