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Bebop Spoken There

George Porter Jr.: ''To me, syncopation is like jazz. It wasn't meant for the masses. It was meant just for a hip few". (DownBeat, May 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

18043 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 364 of them this year alone and, so far, 42 this month (May 15).

From This Moment On ...

MAY 2025

Sat 17: Teresa Watson Band @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sat 17: The Society Quartet @ Hilton Garden Inn, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Tel: 0191 500 9494. £26.00 (inc. two course meal). Line-up: Jason Holcomb, Hannah Taylor, Alix Shepherd & Abbie Finn.
Sat 17: Milne Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 17: Archie Brown & the Young Bucks @ Billy Bootleggers, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Rhythm & blues, Americana etc.
Sat 17: Bellavana @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30-10:00pm. Free. A Late Shows event.
Sat 17: Rockin’ Turner Brothers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Rockabilly, Western swing etc.

Sun 18: Jason Isaacs @ STACK, Seaburn. 12 noon-2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sun 18: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 18: Ruth Lambert & Giles Strong @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 18: Steve Summers Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 19: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 19: Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 20: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Bailey Rudd.
Tue 20: Alexia Gardner Quintet @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth NE61 1ND. 8:00pm.

Wed 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 21: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public). b Wed 21: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 22: Nuevo Castillo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00.
Thu 22: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:30-9:15pm. Free.
Thu 22: Pedal Point Trio @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Fri 23: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. ‘Celebrating Oscar’.
Fri 23: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 23: Anna Reay & Deon Krishnan @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Fri 23: Joe Steels Group @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.55. bf. A Northumberland Jazz Festival fringe event.
Fri 23: Spilt Milk @ STACK, Exchange Sq., Middlesbrough. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 23: Gaz Hughes Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.
Fri 23: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 8:00pm. £19.00.; £17.00. ‘Time After Time’.

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

Friday, June 04, 2021

Jo Harrop - Mary Janes and a Brand New Hat

(Press release)

Jazz vocalist and songwriter Jo Harrop has proudly revealed her new single ‘Red Mary Janes And A Brand New Hat’, the second track from her much-anticipated new studio album, The Heart Wants, due for release October 2021 on Lateralize Records.

Recorded in London and produced by Hannah V (who has worked with everyone from JP Cooper to Stormzy), ‘Red Mary Janes And A Brand New Hat’ was written by Harrop, Hannah V and Natalie Williams and features Jason Rebello (piano), Troy Miller (drums), Jihad Darwish (bass) and Jamie McCredie (guitar).

 

“Red Mary Janes And A Brand New Hat was written late one night at Hannah’s studio in Hoxton after a few bottles of wine,” Harrop explains. “We were all missing gigs and reminiscing about the good times when we got dressed up and took to the stage – the place where all troubles magically fly away. It’s a real contrast to the bluesy torch songs that I usually write, so perhaps people won’t think I’m totally miserable and heartbroken all the time after hearing this.”

 

“It’s really a song about getting ready to go out on stage and perform, dressed in something that makes you feel good and gives you confidence. A glass of good red wine, mic in hand…that’s how I always perform. One of my favourite lines in the song – ‘Whisper the blues right in your ear / Sing so softly only you can hear’ – sums up the intimate way that I try to tell a story when I sing. It’s a salute to all the female jazz singers I cherish, from Sarah Vaughan through to Nina Simone.”

 

Jo’s first solo single If I Knew was released this past April to much fanfare, including multiple plays on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, and JazzFM.

 

“You know the voice, you know she’s quality… Absolutely gorgeous” – Jo Whiley, BBC Radio 2

 

Jo’s 2020 collaboration with Jamie McCredie Weathering The Storm received a raft of rapturous reviews upon its release, showing her velvety voice can melt the stoniest of hearts, with BBC 6 Music’s Iggy Pop exclaiming  “I Believe her… She convinces me.”

 

Jo will be making a welcome return to the stage as part of Lateralize Records’ Jazz On A Summer’s Evening showcase at London’s Cadogan Hall on 5th June 2021.

 

Jo Harrop is surely one of the brightest new stars in the jazz universe.

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