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

18383 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 247 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Mar. 17 ), 57

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

March

Mon 30: Gerry Richardson Quartet @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm.
Mon 30: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 31: Bede Trio @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Albert Hills Wright (alto sax); Finn Carter (piano); Michael Dunlop (double bass).

April

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Musicians playing classical & orchestral music.
Thu 02: The Noel Dennis Band @ Prohibition Bar, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RU. 7:00pm (doors). £10.84. Quartet plus special guest Zoë Gilby. Over 21s only.
Thu 02: Renegade Brass Band @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 02: Shalala @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.00. adv..
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Sunday Night Jazz @ The Globe: The Tim Knowles Quartet - Feb. 20

(© Ken Drew)
Tim Knowles (guitar); John Pope (bass); Emma Johnson (tenor sax); Sarah Heneghan (drums).

The threat of yet another storm on the horizon persuaded me to watch this week's Sunday Night @ the Globe via the livestream option - it worked well for Tony Kofi at the 606 last night and it worked well at the Globe tonight plus you got the whole nine yards or, to be more precise, both sets.

Sheffield based Knowles, apart from being a fine guitarist is, according to his website, also an ethnomusicologist* and you don't get many of them at the Globe.

Emma Johnson we know well from her Gravy Boat (band) whilst John Pope is a musician comfortable in any genre and one of the most melodic bass players around. Sarah Heneghan was a new name to me but she slotted in  nicely.

(© Ken Drew)

The repertoire was very much traditional folk orientated but presented in a contemporary manner. All four musicians soloed impressively without exceeding the listener's parameters of accessibility. In particular the interplay between any two, three or all four players was, at times, totally compelling.

You don't get too many lullabies at jazz gigs, after all you don't want to send the audience to sleep! Tim Knowles' Cradle Song was very much a lullaby but you wouldn't want to sleep in case you missed any of the subtle nuances.

I didn't catch the names of all the tunes so I won't list them but they were all originals and, on this occasion, none the worse for that.

Catch them again - Lance

*Maybe it's just a posh word for a folky - over to you Ann Alex.

3 comments :

Ann Alex said...

I suppose we should ask Tim Knowles what an ethnomusicologist is? I guess it's someone who has studied music of communities all over the world, a bit further afield than the Globe, so to speak. Someone more well travelled than the average folky. And lucky me has this gig to listen to on Youtube tomorrow!

Tim Knowles said...

Many thanks for the kind review, Lance! The gig was a real pleasure - great venue, and great audience.

In answer to the question, you've basically got it, Ann! Ethnomusicology has been variously defined as the study of music and/in/as culture, and historically focused on non-Western musics. The foci of my own research projects have been closer to (my) home, beginning with an MA thesis on improvisation in the English folk scene, and currently a PhD on public participatory music events (open mics, folk sessions, jazz jam sessions), but it remains a fundamental expectation for ethnomusicologists to explore music from around the world, which has been a real pleasure for me.

Ann Alex said...

Tim,
I thoroughly enjoyed the gig on YouTube, great stuff. When you're next in the North East, you could extend your research by visiting South Shields Folk Club where I and my friends sing -see southshieldsfolkclub.co.uk. Lance, the Blog Editor In Chief, might kill me for doing this bit of advertising on a Jazz Blog.

Blog Archive