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

18754 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 618 of them this year alone and, so far this month (July 28) 82

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

Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Red Kites Jazz @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 31: Milne Glendinning Band @ Repas 7 by Night, Berwick. 8:00-9:00pm. £6.00. A Berwick Fringe Festival event. £6.00 (£6.00 wristband access to all Fringe events).

August

Sat 01: Jazz Weekend workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am. £95.00. Tutors: Nel Begley & Paul Edis: Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop. Day 1/2.
Sat 01: Jim Wright’s Rhythm Deluxe @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 01: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Saltburn Bandstand. 2:30-4:30pm. Free.
Sat 01: Milne Glendinning Band @ Leonard’s Coffee House, Durham. 6:20pm. £7.00. A Durham Fringe Festival. 1/2.
Sat 01: Paul Skerritt Swing Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 8:00pm. Free.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 01: The Swing Commanders @ The Amphitheatre, Stockton. 9:00-10:30pm. Free. Stockton International Riverside Festival.

Sun 02: Jazz Weekend workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am. £95.00. Tutors: Nel Begley & Paul Edis: Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop. Day 2/2.
Sun 02: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 02: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Feat. guest Sue Ferris.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 02: Milne Glendinning Band @ Leonard’s Coffee House, Durham. 6:20pm. £7.00. A Durham Fringe Festival event. 2/2.
Sun 02: Nel Begley & Paul Edis @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00.

Mon 03: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 03: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 04: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 06: Wild Women of Wylam @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 06: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Feat. guest Zoë Gilby.
Thu 06: 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 06: Bridget Metcalfe Sextet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

The Cable Street Rag Band @ Jamboree, London - Apr. 16

Lewis Taylor (trumpet, vocals); Dave Shulman (clarinet, tenor sax); John Kelly (guitar); Harry Evans (double bass)

Limehouse de Reverie without Ewan Bleach! The indisposed Cable Street Rag Band MD left matters in the capable hands of Lewis Taylor and his bandmates to keep the show on the road. The band's regular date at Jamboree continues to pull a crowd and the absence of multi-instrumentalist Bleach wasn't about to dampen the enthusiasm of the many regulars who were there to dance the night away.

Jamboree is something of a hidden gem. Tucked away down St Chad's Place, little more than a stone's throw from King's Cross Station, the history of the former Victorian warehouse was probably lost on the majority of the dancers taking to the floor. From teens to a nonagenarian, they danced to the beat of the Cable Street Rag Band.

In  the absence of the 'boss', trumpeter Lewis Taylor stepped in to the breech, not only playing some scintillating trumpet but singing a fair few numbers into the bargain. Taylor's frontline partner, Dave Shulman, played some effective clarinet and equally appealing tenor sax. Largely hidden behind the house upright, guitarist John Kelly worked up a head of steam in the engine room alongside string bassist Harry Evans. 

Across the course of three sets, from Wabash Blues to Deed I Do to the rarely heard Lullaby of the Leaves and many more, in the enforced absence of its leader, the Cable Street Rag Band did a grand job. Russell

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