Bebop Spoken There

Gary Bartz: ''Music is nature's gift to man. It's the only religion. We're living in a terrible era, but what a beautiful thing music is. Look how it brings us together like religion is supposed to; and with no language barriers.'' (Jazzwise September, 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

18878 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 742 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Sept. 4.) 21.

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

September.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 06: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Ian Bosworth (guitar); Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Jeremy McMurray (keyboards); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Mark Hawkins (drums) & guest Mick Donnelly (tenor sax).
Sun 06: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Ropner Park, Stockton. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: Nils Kavanagh Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 07: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 07: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 08: Seijiro Murayama & Jean-Luc Guionnet @ Star & Shadow Cinema, Warwick St., Newcastle, NE2 1BB. 7.00pm. £10.00 (advance); £12.00 (on door); £.15.00 (solidarity).
Tue 08: SH#RP Collective @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 08: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Jam session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: 58 Jazz Collective @ Hartlepool Cricket Club. 7:30pm. £7.00.
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: NONUNONU @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. JNE. Excellent trio.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Jacenaite All Crew @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 10: Emma Rawicz INKYRA @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £22.30. Sage Two. Line-up: Emma Rawicz (sax); Scottie Thompson (piano, keyboards, synth); David Preston (guitar); Kevin Glasgow (bass guitar); Jack Thomas (drums).

Fri 11: Esther Bennett @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm. £10.00. Esther Bennett (vocals); Rick Laughlin (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass).
Fri 11: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 11: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 11: Ray Stubbs’ R&B All Stars @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £14.09 (inc. bf).

Sat 12: Tees Bay Swing Band @ Blacksmith’s Arms, Hartlepool. 1:30pm. Free. Open rehearsal.
Sat 12: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ The White Room, Stanley. 7:45pm. £16.26 (inc. bf).

Sunday, October 23, 2016

The Regals @ The Globe Jazz Bar, Newcastle - October 22.

Neil Hunter (vcl/keys); + gtr/bs gtr/dms.
(Observations by Lance)
Not a jazz gig by any means although who's to say the solos weren't jazz nor that the rocking soul voice of Hunter isn't blues? There are lines drawn in the sand between genres. Trouble is, sand is ever shifting.
For me, this was quite nostalgic reminding me of when I lived in a flat in Bell Street in Hebburn. Listening to Radio Caroline and the various other pirate radio stations. Of listening to the first Clay-Liston fight in the early hours.

The music epitomised that era e.g. Georgie Fame (Yeh Yeh); Albert King (Pretty Woman); Smokey Robinson (Talkin' 'Bout My Girl); Eric Burdon (Please Don't Let me be Misunderstood); Dan Penn (I'm Your Puppet); Bobby Bland (Further on up the Road); Ray Charles (Hallelujah I Just Love Her So); Wilson Pickett (In the Midnight Hour) and others.
Hunter, whose pedigree includes the legendary Eastside Torpedoes and the Smokin' Spitfires (December gig in the offing for the SS at The Globe) has a powerful voice and backed it up with his, at times, B3-like keyboarding. I didn't get the names of the other three but the guitarist was humbucking good and bass and drums did the business.
Like Liston, I didn't go the distance - Metro/bus uncertainty - but I enjoyed what I heard.
Look out for The Regals although, be warned, it seems as though every town on the planet has a band called 'The Regals'!
Lance.

1 comment :

Dave Parker said...

The band personnel was as follows:
Neil Hunter: keyboard and vocals
John Gretton: guitar
Mick Hutchinson: bass
Les Crosby: drums

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