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Bebop Spoken There

Stan Woodward: ''We're part of the British jazz scene, but we don't play London jazz. We play Newcastle jazz. The Knats album represents many things, but most importantly that Newcastle isn't overlooked". (DownBeat, April 2025).

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

17904 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 17 years ago. 225 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (March 24).

From This Moment On ...

MARCH 2025.

Fri 28: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00 SOLD OUT!.
Fri 28: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 28: Spilt Milk @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Nolan Brothers (vocal harmonies).
Fri 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £8.00.
Fri 28: Pete Tanton’s Chet Set @ Old Cinema Laundrette, Durham. 7:45pm.
Fri 28: Sue Ferris Quintet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 28: Mostly Moonlight @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 28: Juliana Day & Manon McCoy @ Cumberland Arms, Byker, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00.; £10.00. advance. JNE.

Sat 29: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 29: Doris Day Story @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Sat 29: Squabble! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 30: Jan Spencelayh & Dave Archbold @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 30: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 30: Jazz Jam Sandwich! @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 30: Jamil Sheriff Trio w. Nadim Teimoori @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 31: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

APRIL 2025

Tue 01: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Joe Steels, Paul Grainger, Mark Robertson.
Tue 01: Customs House Big Band @ The Masonic Hall, North St., Ferryhill DL17 8HX. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 02: Lauren Bush: The Jazz Singer’s Toolkit @ The Pele, Corbridge. 1:00-4:00pm. Vocalist Lauren Bush with pianist Jamil Sheriff presents a jazz singing workshop. £40.00. (inc. evening concert, see below). Registration required for workshop: www.laurenbushjazz.com. All ability levels welcome.
Wed 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 02: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Wed 02: Lauren Bush & Jamil Sheriff @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00-9:00pm. £10.00. Concert performance. Tickets: www.laurenbushjazz.com.
Wed 02: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 02: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. POSSIBLE CANCELLATION. See website for updates: www.theglobenewcastle.bar.

Thu 03: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. Subject: Women in Jazz.
Thu 03: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: New ’58 Jazz Collective @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. A Tees Hot Club promotion. First Thursday in the month.

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, August 22, 2022

Newcastle Jazz Festival (day four) - Lindsay Hannon/Knats - August 21

(© Malcolm Sinclair)
Lindsay Hannon's Tom Waits for no man

Lindsay Hannon (vocals); Alan Law (keyboards); Paul Grainger (bass guitar, double bass)

The fourth and final day of this year's Newcastle Jazz Festival began with a set devoted to the songs of Tom Waits. Vocalist Lindsay Hannon is an admirer of the veteran American songwriter and in a new collaboration with pianist Alan Law the duo's performance won warm applause. In fact, the duo quickly became a trio as Paul Grainger picked up his bass guitar to join them on Heart Attack and Vine. PG would remain on stage, switching to his more usual instrument, double bass. Hannon's seemingly photographic recall of a lyric is truly impressive, it's as if our vocalist is able to immerse herself in the world-weary world of T. Waits. 

Waits' song titles in themselves paint vivid pictures - Christmas Card from a Hooker in MinneapolisPasties and a G-String - and Hannon's playful yet incisive vocal delivery held the attention of a sizeable early Sunday afternoon audience. Alan Law's bluesy piano playing couldn't have been bettered, just right for the material and as accompanist to Hannon. Bassist Paul Grainger didn't miss a trick, steady as you like. The good news is Lindsay Hannon has more gigs in the diary. Watch this space.          
   
Set list: Christmas Card from a Hooker in MinneapolisHeart Attack and VineCold, Cold GroundPicture in a FramePasties and a G-StringMarthaRomeo is Bleeding.

(© Malcolm Sinclair)
Knats: Ferg Kilsby (trumpet); Josh Mitchell-Rayner (keyboards); Stan Woodward (bass); King David Ike-Elechi (drums)

Knats, the band of the moment. These guys are going places, literally. Josh, Stan and King are heading for the Bright Lights (London's music conservatoires), Ferg will follow in due course upon completion of his final year at school. The quartet's gig diary has seen the band popping up in all manner of places, if you haven't at least heard of them, where have you been?! Knats' Newcastle Jazz Festival appearance was the band's penultimate gig in a whirlwind year during which their feet have hardly touched the ground.

Pedals - trumpet, keys, bass and drums - projected Knats' big sound across the cavernous space here at Tyne Bank Brewery. Gloriously retro sounds (that's seventies' full-on jazz-rock, jazz-funk killer riffs) allied to band compositions, Knats went for the jugular. And it worked. Herbie Hancock's Actual Proof and Joe Henderson's Black Narcissus, Knats' Every Sun is a Red Moon, technique in abundance, from Kilsby's fearless blowing, Mitchell-Rayner's inventive solos to Woodward's in-the-pocket basslines to Ike-Elechi's thunderous work behind the traps, there's little doubt Knats opened a few eyes and ears! There's one more opportunity to catch the band, that's Thursday (August 25) at Hoochie Coochie. Don't miss it!  Russell      

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