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Bebop Spoken There

Van Morrison: ''Basically, I'm coming from jazz. Not pop, not rock, not what's commercial. That's where I started, and that's still where I am. I feel the same as I did when I was listening to Louis Armstrong, Lead Belly, Jelly Roll Morton''. (The Northern Echo, 12 June 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

18037 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 458 of them this year alone and, so far, 36 this month (June 11).

From This Moment On ...

JUNE 2025

Sun 15: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Pasadena Roof Orchestra @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:00pm.
Sun 15: Under the Wellie @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Hannah Brine Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club (1:00pm). Free.
Mon 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:30pm. Free. Concert performance (open to the public)..
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 19: Gareth John & the SOS Big Band @ The Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £25.00.

Fri 20: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 20: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 20: David Gray's Flextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 20: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £21.50. ‘Time After Time’.br/> Fri 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Sunderland Minster. 7:30pm.
Fri 20: King Bees @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Superb Chicago blues band.

Sat 21: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Red Kites Jazz @ Staithes Café, Dunston. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.
Sat 21: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

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

Saturday, November 24, 2018

King Bees @ The Collingwood Arms, Jesmond, Newcastle - Nov 23

Michael Littlefield (guitar, vocals); Scott Taylor (harmonica, guitar, vocals); Dominic Hornsby (piano, guitar, vocals); Simon Hedley (double bass); Giles Holt (drums)
(Review by Russell)

A rare blues gig at the Collingwood Arms featuring an equally rare acoustic performance by King Bees...that was Friday night out sorted! Brandling Village regulars occupied their usual seats or stood at the bar engaging in animated chatter as the best blues band in the land set up in amongst the drinking, pizza-eating crowd - your correspondent opting for a rather decent pint of Landlord.  

Dominic Hornsby sat at the pub's upright, Giles Holt rested his snare on a low bar stool, a seated Simon Hedley retracted the spike on his string bass, Scott Taylor sat on a stool, harmonicas laid out on an adjacent stool, and fellow frontman Michael Littlefield sat, then stood, playing acoustically, on some numbers making good use of his National Steel. 

Punters squeezed past, a hand on a King Bees' shoulder - Excuse me mate, sorry mate - as they made numerous trips to the bar and loo. Harmonica ace Taylor hollered Sonny Boy's Keep it to Yourself, blowin' great harp, blowin' for all he was worth, hoping to make himself heard above the Friday night hubbub. 

Littlefield stood up to inform the crowd that the King Bees would be playing for an hour or so and remained on his feet to sing Jimmy Rogers' classic Walking by Myself. Holt cocked an ear hoping to hear his bandmates. If there is a better drummer on the blues scene than this young man then Bebop Spoken Here has yet to come across her/him. 

Hornsby pounded the ivories - given the upright's vintage the 88s probably are ivory! - as if in a barrelhouse. Back in the day musicians no doubt encountered juke joints like this night after night. Littlefield's vocals cut through on Caldonia just as they do at Billy Bootleggers*

The Scream for Pizza company's mobile kitchen set up outside the Collingwood's front door. Business was brisk - Excuse me mate, etc. - with ravenous drinkers seeking sustenance. Another pint of Landlord...none left! Oh, well, a pint of Colly Dog seemed like a good alternative...it was!

The band's one hour set was nearing its end but still they played on. Scott Taylor singing Hard Hearted Woman is one of the great experiences, as is his killing harp playing. An I was there moment, right here in the heart of Jesmond. Their set supposedly at an end, punters making their way into the night, Taylor picked up a guitar, Hornsby likewise (see photo), Holt's brushes the backbeat. 
Russell 
King Bees are resident, first Friday in the month at Billy Bootleggers. Next one Dec 7, on stage nine o'clock, free admission. Unreservedly recommended.     


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