Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey (to Terence Blanchard): ''You ain't Miles find your own shit to do!'' (DownBeat May, 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

18548 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 412 of them this year alone and, so far this month (May 19) 66

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

May

Mon 25: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 26: Noel Dennis Sextet @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £12.00. A Miles Davis centenary concert (Davis b. 26. 5. 1926). Noel Dennis (trumpet); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mark Williams (guitar); Andy Champion (double bass); John Bradford (drums). SOLD OUT!
Tue 26: Lagos to Longbenton @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 27: Neighbourhood Watch + Rivkala @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £5.00. Rivkala (solo).

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ The Millstone, Mill Rise, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £5.00. Subject: Miles Davis & His Favourite Musicians.
Thu 28: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 28: Bobby Rush @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £25.00. + bf. Veteran USA bluesman.
Thu 28: Squabble @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 28: Paul Skerritt @ Angels' Share, St George's Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle NE2 2SX. 8:00pm. Free. Booking advised (0191 200 1975). Skerritt w. backing tapes.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Hotel Gotham, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.

Sat 30: Giles Strong Quartet @ Langley Tracks, Langley on Tyne NE47 5LA. 5:30pm (doors). £15.00 + £1.50 bf.

Sun 31: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 31: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Table reservations (0191 261 8000). Skerritt w. backing tapes.
Sun 31: Sinfonia of London: Tea Dance @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 3:00pm. Free. John Wilson ensemble performing on the concourse. Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George & Ira Gershwin & more.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £3.76.
Sun 31: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 31: Ben Haskins Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00., £12.00., £7.00.

Saturday, January 10, 2026

The Blue Kings @ The Globe, Newcastle - Jan. 9

Neil Hunter (keyboards, vocals); Dave Dunston (tenor sax); Terry O'Hern (trombone); Dave Dryden (guitar); Mick Hutchinson (bass); Lloyd Howell (drums)

A Friday night at Newcastle Jazz Co-op HQ. Not a jazz gig, but a blues-soul, rhythm and blues blowout featuring an all-star band. Six musicians who have been around the block more than a few times, along the way picking up any number of fans, it came as little surprise that the Railway Street venue was packed long before the advertised eight o'clock start.

You Upset Me, Baby, as sung by BB King. That'll do for starters! The Blue Kings are a six piece band, but the focal point, inevitably, was Neil Hunter. The man has 'presence', a big voice, not to mention a geet* big Santa Claus beard. Playing keyboards on this evening's gig, Hunter sang on each and every number.

Pouring Water on a Drowning Man, as sung by James Carr, I'm Your Puppet, one of three Dan Penn (and Spooner Oldham) numbers in the set, Albert Collins' If You Love Me, Hunter and co didn't let up all night. 

Introductions were brief, drummer Lloyd Howell counting them in, feature solos for the excellent, no nonsense Dave Dryden (guitar) and Dave Dunston (tenor sax), the Blue Kings were on top form. The Guinness was going down on stage, the temperature rising. Unchain My Heart, Why Don't You Try Me? (Dryden's slide guitar, à la Ry Cooder), yes, Hunter and the boys were on top form.   

The King is Gone, the Blue Kings' homage to BB King, opened the second set. And so it was, more of the same with Hunter crediting the songwriters and/or the musicians who had hits with the many familiar numbers in the set. Bobby Bland's Yolanda, Roscoe Gordon's Just a Little Bit, Luther Allison's There Comes a Time, the band's love of the material was abundantly clear. 

The Soul Brothers Six had a hit with Some Kind of Wonderful. The Blue Kings played it - the horns Dave Dunston and Terry O'Hern (trombone) punching above their weight, Mel London's Messin' with the Kid (Junior Wells' version), then to close it out, Robert Parker's Barefootin'. Fantastic! The Railway Street audience wanted more, they wouldn't let them go. Everyday I Have the Blues, a canny encore, a canny night.                 

* 'geet' = 'great'. Russell
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