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

19,086 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 950 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Nov. 7) 20.

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

November

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 11: Plague Doctors Cure All + Noonward @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. JNE.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: JANE @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle. 2:00pm. £5.00.
Thu 12: MoonMot + Jack Banjo’s Snackwall @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 12: Ratio: Swingin’ Through the Decades @ The Forum, Darlington. 8:00pm (7:30pm doors). £10.00. A charity fundraiser.
Thu 12: Look Left @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Thu 12: Michael Woods @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Acoustic blues.

Fri 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £9.00. Giles Strong (guitar); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums).
Fri 13: Lapwing Trio @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00. Richard Herdman, Nick Bagnell, Paula Whitty.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! Returns next week (Fri 20th).
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ Hexham Lantern Parade, Bandstand, Sele, Hexham. 6:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Sharp Collective @ Dry Water Arts, Amble. 7:00pm.
Fri 13: East Coast Swing Band @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm.
Fri 13: Guisborough Big Band @ Saltburn Golf Club. 7:30pm. Tickets: £15.00 (inc. pie & peas

Sat 14: Lianne Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am-5:00pm. £95.00. Day 1/2. SOLD OUT!
Sat 14: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 14: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf); £11.00 concs (inc. bf).
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Gateshead. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Tweed Gallery, Berwick. 7:30pm. Free.

Sun 15: Lianne Carroll: Jazz Vocal Weekend Workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 9:30am-5:00pm. Day 2/2. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: James Birkett & Emma Fisk @ The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe. 7:00pm. £48.18 (to include dinner); £17.43 (concert only).
Sun 15: Sarah Gillespie & Chris Montague @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £18.00.
Sun 15: Liane Carroll @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Solo performance. SOLD OUT!

Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Jacob Egglestone, Paul Grainger, Joe Deans.
Tue 17: Grammy Season (Laubrock/Seabrook/Lovato/Rainey) @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 8:00pm. JNE.

Monday, October 19, 2026

Sunday Night @ the Globe: Ben Crosland Quartet w. Steve Waterman - Oct. 18

© Sheila
Ben Crosland (bass guitar, composer); Steve Waterman (trumpet, flugel, compositions); Rod Mason (soprano/tenor/baritone saxes); Dean Stockdale (piano); Dave Tyas (drums)

It was May 2025 when Ben Crosland last showed his bass (guitar) at the Globe although he had been seen and heard at other locations throughout the land both live and on disc including a  concert a couple of rivers away in Sunderland.

The well-attended room suggested the audience were up for more and they weren't disappointed. From Dean Stockdale's opening few bars we knew the groove was in.

The big difference was that last night it was the Ben Crosland Quartet with Steve Waterman - Steve Waterman - one of the all-time great British trumpet players!

© Sheila
The opening Broadway Departure from Crosland's Wooltown Reflections told us that this was no trumpet player living on past glories but a man very much of today with a technique and a range to die for. Mason on tenor proved that he too was on fire. Tasty solo from Dean and a brief tenor/drum exchange brought the breathtaking opener to a close.

After the Fire referenced the horrific Bradford City fire of 1985 and was suitably solemn with Rod an soprano and Steve on flugel. Both instruments blended with each other in a melancholy sort of way.

Ben's a big fan of Don Grolnick and the American composer's Fawlty Towers showed us why. Ben's also into cats (hooray!) and invariably there's a piece relating to his fine felines Billie and Lester. On this occasion it was Billie's Blessing. A nice smoochy number that had me imagining stroking her on my knee. Needless to say Ben's solo was full of feeling.

Steve composed Anne's Capetown Odyssey dedicated to a lady involved in the Capetown Big Band Festival for many years. Rod blew baritone - an instrument I hadn't heard him play before. I want to hear him playing it again. Malecón - a stretch of Cuban coastline and a Latin composition of Steve's had Dave capturing perfectly the feeling of a hot night in Havana.

Ben's Monsieur BB referred to the French custodian of a jazz club in Huddersfield and featured Steve on flugel. I think the next number also referred to a club (the Priestley?) - Down in the Basement. Soprano and trumpet at times were up in the attic - maybe on the roof! Tremendous.

Grolnick composed the beautiful Nothing Personal for Michael Brecker's first solo album. However, beautiful as it was I felt that the dragged out ending made it just a little too long and I sensed the natives were getting restless.

All was forgiven with Steve's Destination Unknown. A hard swinging number with everyone playing for keeps culminating with Dave's explosive solo bringing a sensational session to a close. Lance  

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