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

18573 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 437 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 28) 91

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

May

Sat 30: Giles Strong Quartet @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £1.50 bf.

Sun 31: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 31: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 31: Sinfonia of London: Tea Dance @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm. Free. John Wilson ensemble performing on the concourse. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin & more.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 31: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 31: Ben Haskins Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00.

June

Mon 01: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Mon 01: CW Stoneking @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Blues, Americana.

Tue 02: Mark Williams Trio @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00.
Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, John Hirst.
Tue 02: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 04: Postmodern Jukebox @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Thu 04: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Thu 04: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 05: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 05: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 05-Thu 11: FILM: Köln 75 @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. Dir. Ido Fluk. Drama based on the true story of Keith Jarrett’s 1975 concert in Cologne. Screenings TBC.
Fri 05: Pete Tanton & Alan Law @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 05: House of the Black Gardenia: Summer Tyne Swing Festival @ Northumbria University Students’ Union, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £130.00; £95.00; £70.00; £50.00. Note: all day dance event (classes & socials). House of the Black Gardenia evening performance. Day 1/3.
Fri 05: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band + IKS Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £24.00. Big band double bill. IKS Big Band (Germany).
Fri 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. £15.00

Tuesday, March 03, 2026

Tenement Jazz Band @ The Spice of Life, London - Mar. 2

Chuck Dearness (cornet); Stephen Feast (clarinet); Paddy Darley (trombone); Rory Clark (sousaphone); John Youngs (banjo, vocals) 

On a Monday lunchtime at Cambridge Circus you can drop by a top class jazz gig for the princely sum of ten pounds. Week to week, Richard Pite's promotion at the Spice of Life never fails to disappoint. From New Orleans to modern jazz, it's always a winner. 

This week's offering featured a return visit by Edinburgh's Tenement Jazz Band. Folowing a successful gig the previous evening on the south coast, the popular five piece outfit set off nice and early from Hayling Island, Portsmouth. 

Arriving at their Moor Street destination in good time, Messrs Dearness, Feast, Darley, Youngs and Clark took time to catch up with numerous friends and fans.

The Dusty Rag blew away any cobwebs, just the start Dr Jazz would have prescribed. John Youngs (banjo, vocals), the Tenements' cheerfully droll frontman, frequently downplays the band's collective abilities. They're good, very good, make no mistake. 

Canal Street Blues, Snake Rag, the boys hit the ground running. In the Crescent City tradition, group improvisation was to the fore. Bouncing Around, South (of the border!), the Tenements' London fan base liked what it was hearing.

An interval of twenty five minutes or thereabouts and the boys were back on stage with the ever-popular San. The Musical Stevedores' stately Honeycomb Harmony worked well. Is the 1929 song a recent addition to the band's pad? Speaking of which, John Youngs informed the audience the Tenements no longer bother writing out a set list. They take to the stage and take it from there. 

At a Georgia Camp Meeting, Whenever You're Lonesome (John Youngs taking the vocal, as sung on the band's New Orleans Wiggle album by Mike Kearney), Chuck Dearness' hot cornet on Stockyard Strut, we were listening to the Tenements at their individual and collective best. 

It was fast approaching the half past two finish. Blue Drag with its 'viper jazz' feel, then a spotlight feature for Stephen Feast playing Clarinet Marmalade - always a treat. And to finish, In the Gloaming. 

It had been an excellent session and on Saturday (March 7) the Tenement Jazz Band will be closer to home, stopping off at St Augustine's Parish Centre to play a welcome return gig at Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club. It's a 12:30pm start, a tenner at the door. It'll be busy, arrive in good time to bag a seat. Russell

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