Bebop Spoken There

Emma Rawicz: "In a couple of years I've gone from being a normal university student to suddenly being on international stages." DownBeat January 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

18219 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 73 of them this year alone and, so far this month (Jan. 24), 73

From This Moment On ...

JANUARY 2026

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.
Fri 30: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Fri 30: Pete Roth Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). Feat. Bill Bruford.
Fri 30: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Fri 30: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Northern Edge Coffee, Silver St., Berwick. 7:00pm.
Fri 30: Dan Coulthurst Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00 + £1.00. bf (www.wegottickets.com). Coulthurst (trumpet); Joel Steadman (bass clarinet, flute); Nico Widdowson (piano); Fergus Quill (double bass); Theo Goss (drums).

Sat 31: Darling Dollies @ St George’s Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Vocal trio.
Sat 31: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

FEBRUARY 2026

Sun 01: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £10.00.
Sun 01: Ian Bosworth Quintet @ Chapel, Middlesbrough. 1:00pm. Free. Quintet + guest Bill Watson (trumpet, flugelhorn).
Sun 01: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 01: Annie & the Caldwells @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. adv. Gospel/soul.
Sun 01: Jive Aces @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm.
Sun 01: Olly Styles Experience + Jenny Baker @ the Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 02: Saltburn Big Band @ Saltburn House Hotel. 7:00-9:00pm. Free.

Tue 03: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, Ferryhill. 7:30pm. Free.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ 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: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 05: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject:Times of the Day & Trios.
Thu 05: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm. Special guest Emma Wilson.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

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

Monday, March 07, 2022

Sunday Night Jazz @ The Globe: Hand to Mouth - March 6

Lindsay Hannon (vocals); Bradley Johnston (guitars)

In the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, Carly Simon sang Nobody Does it Better. Hand to Mouth didn't sing/play Nobody Does it Better but the audience at The Globe last night most certainly loved them. and, if it had been in their repertoire then the title would have been very appropriate.

Lindsay, booted and mini-dressed atop a barstool and Bradley, suited and slim-jimmed at ground level, gave a performance that was, even by their standards, exceptional. 

From Brad's opening guitar intro to The Very Thought of You through to Lindsay's wistful farewell on Some Other Time the audience were spellbound - no one dared to drop a pin.

The material was, in the main, drawn from the legendary duo albums by Joe Pass and Ella Fitzgerald although Lindsay tends to sound more like a raunchy version of Peggy Lee and there's nothing wrong with that! Brad is like whoever he wants to sound like. On this occasion it was Joe Pass. In his parallel universes he could be Django Reinhardt or Pat Metheny or even himself!

I'm Thru With Love brought back memories of Marilyn Monroe singing it in the film Some Like it Hot - Lindsay got the decision. All Too Soon was followed by I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues with Brad switching to Spanish acoustic.

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, then an impromptu Mean to Me with Lindsay delivering a couple of scat choruses before Solitude and I'm a Fool to Want You brought us up to the interval.

Time for a pint of Doom Bar. As the gig featured Hand to Mouth it seemed the appropriate thing to do.

Time for the second set and nobody left. More Ella/Joe with Take Love Easy. Gee Baby Ain't I Good to You and Nature Boy were followed by, what was for me, the highlight of the evening in an evening full of highlights - These Foolish Things, soft and sensuous. Now, hours later, the line 'oh how the ghost of you clings' is still running around in my head. Brad's playing a chordal accompaniment and a bassline simultaneously added to the overall impact.

Come Rain or Come Shine, the inevitable Joni Mitchell number (Blue Motel Room) and, all too soon it, was Down With Love and Some Other Time*.

As I said at the beginning - nobody does it better. Lance

*Some other time at Bishop Auckland Town Hall (March 11) and the Lit & Phil (March 18). Both 1:00pm - 2:00pm.

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