Bebop Spoken There

Ludovic Beier (Django Festival Allstars): ''Manouche means 'free man,' and gypsies have been travelers since they migrated west from India to Europe.'' (DownBeat March, 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

18361 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 215 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 8 ), 25

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 12: Boomslang @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 12: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ The Mill Tavern, Hebburn. 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 13: Paul Skerritt Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Methodist Church. 1:00pm . £9.00.
Fri 13: The SH#RP Collective @ Jesmond Library, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Soothsayers + Rookie Numbers @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.

Sat 14: The Too Bad Jims @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm (6:30pm doors). £13.20., £11.00. R&B.
Sat 14: NUJO @ Venue, Newcastle University Students’ Union. Time TBC. £15.00. supporter; £10.00. standard; £5.00. student. Seated event.

Sun 15: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 15: The Too Bad Jims @ The Georgian Theatre, Stockton. 3:00pm. £12.00. R&B.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Rebecca Poole @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00. Poole w. Dean Stockdale & Ken Marley. CANCELLED!

Mon 16: Milne Glendinning Band @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 16: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Russ Morgan Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00.

Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Scotty Adair (drums).

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: The ’58 Jazz Collective @ Hartlepool Cricket Club, West Park, 7:30pm. £7.00.
Wed 18: Brand New Heavies @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm.
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, 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

Saturday, August 07, 2021

King Bees at the Blind Pig - August 6

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

The Blind Pig Blues Club is up and running once more following a prolonged period of lockdown-enforced inactivity. The Blind Pig? That's the blues 'club' established by King Bees' frontman Michael Littlefield and Struggle Buggy's Lee Bates to showcase some of the best blues musicians on Tyneside and beyond. On this Friday evening in Prohibition Bar (a wannabe blind pig juke joint) all seats were taken with late comers standing at the bar. 

King Bees play Chicago blues. If these guys walked into a Chicago, Illinois blues club and took to the stage our American cousins would never guess the boys are from Britain. The pursuit of 'authenticity' can be a contentious subject: Why try to sound like someone else? Why not be yourself? King Bees can't help themselves, quite simply, they've got it, whatever 'it' is. The set list, as familiar as ever, included any number of classic tunes, from Duke to I Don't Know to Cuckoo to My Babe with Littlefield and co-frontman Scott Taylor's spine-tingling vocals, Littlefield's 'authentic' guitar licks and Taylor's convincing blues harp playing a joy to listen to. 

Piano man Dom Hornsby fired-up the Rocket 88, taking it down to Kansas City (bassist Simon Hedley and drummer Giles Holt along for the ride), movin' on over to Memphis Slim's I'm Lost Without You (Taylor's impassioned vocals), this was King Bees at their best. Caldonia, Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (the set's oddity) and onto an encore, and another and another.

Next month's Blind Pig session (Friday 3 September) presents Struggle Buggy. Arrive early to grab a seat, it'll be busy.  Russell    
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