Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18122 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 1086 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Dec. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Thu 01: The Revolutionaires @ The Old Barrel (Flatties), Boldon Colliery. 4:00pm. Free. Excellent, high octane rhythm & blues.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. No session this week, next one Friday 9th
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.No session this week, next one Friday 9th

Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Earl Thomas Blues Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sun 04: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 04: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free Quintet + guest Josh Bentham (alto sax).
Sun 04: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 04: Revolutionaires @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 4:00pm (doors). Free. Rocking rockabilly/r&b.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 05: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 06: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:00pm. Free.
Tue 06: FILM: Blue Moon @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm. Dir. Richard Linklater’s biopic of Lorenz Hart.
Tue 06: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Scotty Adair.

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 07: FILM: Blue Moon @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 2:00pm. Dir. Richard Linklater’s biopic of Lorenz Hart.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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

Thursday, January 01, 2026

Stockport Jazz

This week Stockport Jazz welcomes in the New Year at the Moor Club with the Mike Hope Quartet, featuring Mike Hope (tenor saxophone/flute), Paul Hartley (guitar), Ken Marley (bass) and Dave Walsh (drums). 

Sunday January 4th

Every Sunday 8-10pm, doors open at 7.30pm

£5 entry on the door, all welcome


The Moor Club, 35 Heaton Moor Road, Stockport SK4 4PB  (next to the Elizabethan PH)

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A January preview

Two sold out concerts at the start of the year suggest the local (i.e. north east of England) jazz scene is in good shape. Residencies continue without pause, a new venue comes on stream and another is in the pipeline. If 2025 was a good year for the jazz fan (it was), 2026 looks like being every bit as good.

The two sold out gigs - Giles Strong at Newcastle's Lit & Phil on Friday 16th and Ronnie Scott's Soho Songbook at Sunderland's Fire Station (pictured) on Thursday 22nd - are unlikely to see many, if any, tickets being returned. However, it could be worth contacting the respective venues at: www.litandphil.org.uk and www.thefirestation.org.uk. 
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Glenn’s Gigs — A Year in Music (2025)

If 2025 proved anything, it’s that live music still thrives on connection: between musicians on stage, between artist and audience, and between songs and the lives we bring with us into the room. Across basement clubs, towering halls and late-night sessions, these gigs formed a richly woven year of jazz, blues and soul, with a sprinkling of country proving that music transcends genre and that the most important thing is the storytelling and shared experience. It was also proof that the London jazz scene burns brighter than ever, with over 40 gigs spread out across the year.

The mighty Royal Albert Hall saw Gregory Porter take up a five-night residency in towering fashion with his unmistakable baritone filling the room with warmth and gravitas, with a captivating blend of soul and jazz. Jo Harrop backing him over the 14 nights of his UK tour offered contrast and intimacy—proof that subtlety can be just as powerful as scale. That balance between grandeur and nuance became a recurring theme.

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Album review: Vance Thompson - Lost and Found (Moondo Music)

Vance Thompson (vibes); Taber Gable (piano); Steve Kovalcheck (guitar); Tommy Sauter (bass); Marcus Finnie (drums)

A triumph over adversity is perhaps a good way to describe Lost and Found, Vance Thompson's first album as a leader in over 10 years. A Grammy nominated trumpet player his career had seemingly come to an end when the effects of a neurological disorder, Focal Dystonia, made trumpet playing at the high level he was used to no longer attainable.

Not to be outdone he transferred his widely recognised jazz chops to the vibraphone, the result being this delightful album of swinging modern jazz.
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