Bebop Spoken There

Joe Alterman: ''All I wanted to do growing up was to sound like Erroll Garner playing "Poor Butterfly." I thought that was the coolest sound I'd ever heard.'' (DownBeat November, 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

19,061 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 925 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 30) 104.

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 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Fri 06: Mike Durham’s International Classic Jazz Party @ Village Hotel, West Allotment. 12 noon. Day 1/3.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Jazz Night: Bridget Metcalfe @ Saltburn House Hotel. From 6:00pm. Tickets: £40.00 (inc. a two-course meal & glass of Prosecco). Tel: 01287 658977.

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

The thoughts of saxman Branford

Branford Marsalis: “A band has to have great followers, you can't have five great leaders” – (Down Beat December 1982).

Branford Marsalis: "...if someone is going to serve your head on a platter, you want it to be Sonny Rollins not some guy at Smalls who nobody knows." - (Down Beat July 2004.)

Branford Marsalis: "Why isn't jazz popular? Because jazz musicians today are completely devoid of character." - (The Jazz Ear - Ben Ratliffe).

Branford Marsalis: “I loved it (Mahler's 3rd Symphony) so much that I stole Wynton's record when I went away to college" - (Jazz Journal May 2013.)

Branford Marsalis: “When I knew I was going to do the [solo] concert…if it’s good we release it, if it’s shite, well I have this big pile of shite that I can listen to – to remind myself how much better I need to be.” – (Jazzwise December 2014/January 2015).

Branford Marsalis: “I learned a lot on that [1985] tour and Sting’s a wonderful person and a really incredibly smart guy and helluva song writer…” – (Jazzwise December 2014/January 2015).

Branford Marsalis: "Back in 1990, I used to go waltzing past the melody, treating it as something to sidestep before starting to solo in double time. " - (Jazzwise April 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "I was a Mets season ticket holder. I remember when they were in old ragged ass Shea Stadium. you could go to a professional baseball game for $25. Now, that's the price of popcorn and a Coke. So who is jazz for? Music is for everybody, but there are market realities -(DownBeat, May 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "I don't know any good music that isn't borrowed from somewhere else - (DownBeat, May 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "You talk to the old guys about it [52nd St.], and they say the music part was great. Every other aspect of it [pay, hours, conditions] sucked" - (DownBeat, May 2019).

Branford Marsalis: "I went off and played with Sting (in the '80s), a great guy and fantastic songwriter." - (JazzTimes June 2019).

Branford Marsalis: “Art [Blakey] taught  in the Socratic manner. He'd force you to think, and through thinking, you arrive at the answer ”. (DownBeat, January, 2020).

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 2023).
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