Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18246 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 100 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 31), 100

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Durham Alumni Big Band & Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn Theatre. 7:30pm. £12.00. Two big bands on stage together!
Fri 06: Nauta + Littlewood Trio @ Little Buildings, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Double bill + jam session.
Fri 06: FILM: Made in America @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Ornette Coleman.
Fri 06: Deep Six Blues @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.

Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Tees Bay Swing Band @ The Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30-3:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Swing Tyne @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12 noon (doors). Donations. Swing dance taster class (12:30pm) + Hot Club de Heaton (live performance). Non dancers welcome.
Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Gerry Richardson’s Big Idea @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, 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

Monday, November 18, 2013

A Unique Night of Blues and Gospel from The Holy Rollers – Salsa Café November 16

Kathryn Lowdon (Vocal) and Gypsy Dave Smith (Guitar and Vocal). (Review by Kath Jobes).
Memories of the Jazz Café as it was were tangible this evening as Gipsy Dave Smith kicked the evening off with Careless Love, followed by I’m The Whining Boy, and if I closed my eyes I would have believed that there really was a trombone introduction as the skill of this great performer excelled as he mimicked the sound of a trombone to open the number… Just wow! 
Kathryn Lowdon then joined Gypsy Dave for a Willy Johnson Number, Nobody’s Fault but Mine, and then the ‘little bitty mamma’ carried on with a grand tune - Skinny Leg BluesMary Don’t You Weep, Get Away Jordan and the Claude Ely gospel number - Ain't No Grave (Gonna Hold This Body Down) followed on and the first set ended on a Gypsy Dave Smith original - Blue World.
The second set was a marathon of tunes from this superb unique duo commencing with another original by Gypsy Dave, written in the winter of 86/87 in the cold hard snows called Dead End Street.  Ida Cox’s Four Day Creep  and Looky Looky Yonder were wilder and lively but the next number Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out was a little more subdued and led nicely into a sensitive and sentimental song that would bring a tear to your eye,  What Are They Doing There Now.
The sentimental theme continued with the Kris Kristofferson number, Help Me Make It Through the Night and then a song first recorded by Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter in 1933 – Irene Goodnight, punctuated by sound effects from the entertaining humour of Gypsy Dave. 
The pace picked up for a delightful Black Betty and a well-known rugby song, Swing Low Sweet Chariot which seamlessly joined with Lord Wont You Buy Me a Mercedes Benz, before flipping back to the original tune. 
Kathryn Lowdon showed her versatility as a gifted singer on Evil Girl Blues. The final number of the night was an animated Skillet Lickers gospel tune – Don’t You Hear Jerusalem Moan, what an unforgettable end to the evening … and Holy Moly did they Roll!
Kath J.

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