Bebop Spoken There

John Donegan: ''What you take in through your ears can come out through your fingers.'' (Notes to Which Direction October, 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

19,057 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 921 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Oct. 29) 100.

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

October.

Fri 30: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 30: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.

Sat 31: Saltburn Big Band + Durham Alumni Big Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Sat 31: East Coast Swing Band @ Cramlington Village Club, Park View, Cramlington NE23 6QJ. 7:30pm. £10.00. (from venue).

November

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet w. special guest Donna Hewitt (tenor sax, clarinet)
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Sarah Heneghan Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).

Tue 03: Alan Law @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 2:00pm. Free. Alan Law (piano) w. guest tba
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Stu Collingwood, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ 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: An Evening of Erykah Badu @ Holy GrAle, Durham. 7:30pm. £3.00.; £2.50. A Durham University Jazz Society event.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hejira - Celebrating Joni Mitchell @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Cut Capers @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).
Thu 05: Northern Reaches @ Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. Free (donations). Pete Tanton, Joe Steels, Laurence Blackadder, John Hirst.
Thu 05: Fergus McCreadie @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Saturday, July 17, 2021

KSTV: Norah Jones' Come Away with Me - July 17

(Screenshot by Ken Drew)
Hattie Whitehead (vocals, guitar); Alex Haynes (guitar); Joe Webb (piano); Daisy George (double bass); Lloyd Haynes (drums) 

Signed to Blue Note, Norah Jones' debut studio album would go on to sell 27m copies worldwide making Come Away with Me one of the biggest selling records of all time, period. A Billboard 200 chart-topper, Grammy award-winning, who's to argue with its popularity? Jones' 2002 debut recording featured some stellar jazz names - guitarists Bill Frisell and Adam Rogers, violinist Jenny Scheinman and drummer Brian Blade. 
This Kansas Smitty's session would be the last one 'til September. Singer-songwriter Hattie Whitehead returned to Smitty's following her well-received set of Joni Mitchell's tunes to sing the Norah Jones songbook. Supported by pianist Joe Webb, bassist Daisy George and the Haynes brothers - Alex, guitar, Lloyd, drums - Whitehead produced another winning performance. Blue Note must have made a shed load from the album's runaway success but, in truth, it isn't jazz, more singer-songwriter country material. That said, the Kansas Smitty's guys made a great job of recreating it. Alex Haynes' guitar playing proved to be a revelation - Bill Frisell to a tee. Bassist Daisy George's beautifully resonant sound set the tone, and the man at the piano, Mr Joe Webb, reaffirmed his status as the 'go-to' musician for a project such as this. 

(Collage by Ken Drew)
Our man Joe shone throughout, particularly on Hank Williams' Cold Cold Heart (Lloyd Haynes in effective country mode behind the traps) and as accompanist to Whitehead on the set's sole bona fide number, The Nearness of You. To close this evening's set, indeed the current season, one of Norah Jones' enduringly popular songs, Don't Know Why. KSTV will return in September.  Russell  

Set list included: Feelin' the Same Way; Shoot the Moon; I've Got to See You Again; The Nearness of You; Come Away with Me; Cold Cold Heart; Nightingale; Don't Know Why.   

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