Bebop Spoken There

Donovan Haffner ('Best Newcomer' 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards): ''I got into jazz the first time I picked up a saxophone!" - Jazzwise Dec 25/Jan 26

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

18146 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 24 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 7), 24

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

Sat 10: Mark Toomey Quintet @ St Peter’s Church, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:30pm. £12.00. (inc. pie & peas). Tickets from: 07749 255038.

Sun 11: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 12: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 13: Milne Glendinning Band @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £11.00. Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 13: Jazz Jam Sandwich @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: Jam Session @ The Tannery, Hexham. 7:00pm. Free.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 15: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Quartet + guest Paul Donnelly (guitar).

Fri 16: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 16: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 16: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 16: Darlington Big Band @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 16: Leeds City Stompers @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle. 9:00pm. 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

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 WayShoot the MoonI've Got to See You AgainThe Nearness of You; Come Away with MeCold Cold HeartNightingaleDon't Know Why.   

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