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: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. £27.50. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. St Thomas & Bésame Mucho. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Side Cafe Oᴙkestar @ Café Under the Spire, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Table reservations: 0191 477 3970.
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

Wednesday, June 07, 2017

CD Review: Sue McCreeth - Look Back And Love

Sue McCreeth (vocal); Paul Harrison, John Horler (piano); Mario Caribe, Andrew Cleyndert (bass); Stu Brown (drums); Martin Shaw (trumpet)  Many other musicians listed for various tracks, these are the main ones.
(Review by Ann Alex).
You could read this review, or you could go to the website, www.suemccreeth.com and play the video of the Sat Nam, and you’ll get a good idea of what this superb singer and her various musicians are all about. Dave Gelly of the Observer writes ...’ She sings with warmth and intimacy, and commands a wonderful flexibility (in) her vocal tone’...  I couldn’t have explained it better.

Ms McCreeth is a singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist who has led ensembles down South since 2000 and this is her sixth album, which is an anthology of her songwriting work so far, together with 4 new songs. She studied improvisation and also composition via the Berklee College of Music.
The CD gives us mostly love songs of various moods, beginning with Sat Nam, wordless vocals with a folky eastern feel, followed by She Want Him, in which the singer almost becomes one of the instruments in the band. Other notable tracks are the rocky Nut Tree (guitar and keys with a regular drum beat and electronic effects); The Air Is Blue (atmospheric, cool, blue, guitar sound); Mother
Sister Father Brothers My Man Child & His Mama (a new song which is a message to her relatives
‘With my new love
I finally knew love
With my own sweet man child’.
The longest track at 9.28 minutes is Only Here, a love song which is atmospheric rather than narrative, with constant repetition of ‘You and I’.
Most of the songs are with the standard trio of piano, bass and drums, with most solos taken by the piano, and it goes without saying that the musicians are skilled. If you like to hear brass with singers, this CD won’t supply that as Martin Shaw only appears on 2 of the tracks. The singer is out on tour this year but the nearest gig to us is Edinburgh on June 18.
The CD was launched on May 29 at the Pizza Express Jazz Club, London, and was released on June 2 by Discovery Records. 

Ann Alex

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