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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 2025).

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

18076 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 397 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (May 25).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Wed 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 28: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 28: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 29: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: That’s the Blues, Dad.
Thu 29: Nova.sol + Mikoudi @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 29: Front Porch Three @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Americana, blues etc.

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 30: Rivkala @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Middleton & Tonbridge Village Hall. 7:30pm.

Sat 31: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 31: Funk Soul Sista @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 31: House of the Black Gardenia @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. SOLD OUT!

JUNE 2025

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 01: Harry Keeble Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. Keeble, Mark Williams, Andy Champion, Abbie Finn.
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 01: Hattie Whitehead @ Cotherstone Village Hall, Co. Durham. 7:30pm. £12.00.; £6.00. child.
Sun 01: Ruth Lambert Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle (8:00pm).

Mon 02: Swing Manouche @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00. at the door; £8.20. (inc £0.20 bf) online, in advance.
Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 02: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free. CANCELLED! RESCHEDULED to JULY 7.

Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Ben Phillips, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 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

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

RIP Tom Smith - Farewell to a friend

The funeral of a dear, longstanding, friend took place today. Tom Smith, who was 87, played piano in one of the very first bands I played in - The Tom Smith Trio. In the photo, from the early/ mid-1960s, Tom is on Piano, Bill Shaw played drums and I was on alto. All three of us attended Jarrow Central School, albeit in different years. The lower section of the photo, taken circa 2005/6, shows us after we met up again at a school reunion. Sadly, both Tom and Bill are now gone.
Tom wasn't a jazzman by any means but he had a good, rhythmic style that was ideal for the dance work we did.
Apart from music, we also shared a social life for some years which, as so often happens gradually faded. Fortunately, years later, we met up again with lots to reminisce about.
His funeral at Whitley Bay Crem was well attended.
Music played was Over the Rainbow by Eva Cassidy, Just the Way You Are by Billy Joel and a version of I'll See You in my Dreams by a pianist I didn't recognise.
Sadly missed.
Rest in Peace dear friend.
Lance

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