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Bebop Spoken There

George Colligan: ''I think to be a successful musician, you must be versatile to make a living — until you find your niche''. (DownBeat, July 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

17,612 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 576 of them this year alone and, so far, 54 this month (July 18).

From This Moment On ...

JULY 2025

Thu 24: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Tony Roberts presents ‘Progressive Jazz’.
Thu 24: Soweto Kinch + Theo Croker + Joe Webb Trio + Rivkala @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 8:00pm (doors 7:30pm). £23.00. A BBC Proms event.
Thu 24: Isobel Pearce Quartet @ Dept. of Music, Palace Green, Durham University. 8:15pm. £10.00. & £7.00. Second night of two. A Durham Fringe Festival event.

Fri 25: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 25: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 25: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal).
Fri 25: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton Mill. 6:00pm. Free. Barbara Wilcox (keyboards, vocals); Paul Carter (bass); Georg Voros (drums, vocals).
Fri 25: Bold Big Band @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £18.00.; £12.00.; £6.00.; £4.00. A Newcastle Fringe Festival event.
Fri 25: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Country blues guitar & vocals. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 26: Ragtime Rewind @ Dept. of Music, Palace Green, Durham University. 12:30pm. £10.00. & £7.00. First afternoon of two. A Durham Fringe Festival event.
Sat 26: Bright Street Big Band: Swing Band Dance Party @ Washington Arts Centre. 2:00pm (doors). £12.00. Swing dance event. Bright Street Big Band 3:00pm & 4:15pm.
Sat 26: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 4:30pm. Free. A BBC Proms: Introducing Stage event.
Sat 26: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 26: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 27: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 27: Ragtime Rewind @ Dept. of Music, Palace Green, Durham University. 8:15pm. £10.00. & £7.00. Second afternoon of two. A Durham Fringe Festival event.
Sun 27: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Mon 28: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.

Tue 29: ???

Wed 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 30: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 30: 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, April 20, 2017

CD Review: Matt Holman - The Tenth Muse

Matt Holman (trumpet); Chris Dingham (Vibes); Bobby Avey (piano); Sam Sadigursky (reeds/flutes).
(Review by Steve H).
Inspired by the love poetry of Greek poetess Sappho written some two and a half millennia ago New York based trumpeter Matt Holman has produced   The Tenth Muse consisting of 16 fragments. Each piece is titled fragment nnnx where nnn is a number between 4 and 168 and x where populated is the letter a,b or c. The accompanying liner notes have snippets of Sappho’s  poetry relating to  each fragment -  for example track 8 fragment 168b reads –
Moon has set and Pleades: middle night, the hour goes by, alone I lie.
Every fourth piece is a solo improvisation (120,67a,34 and 18)  one for each band member which segment the other fragments up cleverly. Holman’s stark trumpet tends to dominate proceedings although, the entire album is wonderfully augmented by the collaboration of the other very fine instrumentalists. Some of the harmonies are indeed glorious. There is a certain haunting dreamy moodiness which pervades throughout with occasional lightness provided by Chris Dingham on vibes and Bobby Avey on piano whilst Sadigursky, playing an assortment of instruments, adds both variety and intrigue.
All in all a highly charged, melodic, deep atmospheric listen. One for pondering the meaning of life rather than one for dancing round the living room to.
Steve H.
Listen/buy.

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