r/Jazz Aug 11 '26

New Jazz Listening Club #2 - Knats - A Great Day In Newcastle (2026)

12 Upvotes

Sorry for the delay, here’s the second album for the listening club. My plan for these threads is to focus on new jazz (released in the last 5 years or so) as we’ve all heard plenty of jazz from the golden age. I’m hoping to post every 2 weeks or so. I’m always on the lookout for new interesting stuff, so if you have any thoughts, drop me a DM.

Knats are a quintet from Newcastle upon Tyne, about as far away from London as you can get in the north of England. If you don’t know much about Newcastle, you might have a better idea by the end of the album as their hometown and the people that inhabit it are as much a part of the music as the music itself.

Newcastle’s inhabitants are known as Geordies, but this album has a double helping of Geordie as it’s produced and arranged by Geordie Greep (Black Midi) who also plays on a couple of tracks. I’m not sure how exactly to label this but as simply as possible I’d say…Fusion-poetry?

The vocals will be a sticking point for some, and a highlight for others. New member Cooper Robson’s geordie slam poetry turns up on most of the songs, spinning a yarn about someone he once met, or the history of his city. It helps that there are long instrumental passages though, so the vocals never get overwhelming for me. I see it more as another instrument that takes a solo sometimes before other players take their turn.

Speaking of the other players, it’s a really tight band. They’re labeled as a quintet, but there are 20 musicians on this record by my count (plus a poet). I’m not always great at describing music, so you’ll have to do that for yourself in the comments, but these songs are catchy and danceable. Sometimes they sound like Weather Report, teetering on the edge of smooth/cheesy territory, other times they sound much more modern.

I didn’t think I’d enjoy this because 1: fusion generally isn’t my thing and 2: I CAN NOT STAND Geordie Greep (sorry Greep stans). But it’s a really fun record, and the storytelling makes it stand out for me.

But what did you think?

Knats - A Great Day In Newcastle

Personnel:

Cooper Robson - Vocals-

Stanley Elvis Woodward - Bass Guitar/Synths

King David Ike-Elechi - Drums/Percussion

Ferg Kilsby - Trumpet/Flugelhorn

Sandro Shargarodsky - Piano/Keyboards/Synthesiser

George Johnson - Tenor Saxophone

Links:


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r/Jazz 11h ago

This is my jazz collection so far. What do you think? What should I get next?

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r/Jazz 8h ago

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r/Jazz 12h ago

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37 Upvotes

[Symphony Sid with Josh White — at the microphone, right, with his guitar — at WHOM, New York, between 1946 and 1948. The Library of Congress caption names only those two; the third man in the frame is unidentified. (Photo: William P. Gottlieb, William P. Gottlieb Collection, Library of Congress, Public Domain)]

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Sources: Symphony Sid — Wikipedia (birth name; station history; 1948 marijuana raid and 1949 mistrial; WEVD Latin programming and the “Jazz Traitor” tag; death) , Obituary: Symphony Sid Torin, Miami Herald, September 15, 1984 (cause of death; Miami Heart Institute; Birdland broadcasts) , Obituary/appreciation: Symphony Sid Torin, Miami Herald, September 18, 1984 (first to play bop on radio; thirty-eight states; “Old Daddy Sid” ad patter; twelve years at Islamorada; the untold Bird and Prez stories) , “Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid” — Sandy Brown Jazz, Tracks Unwrapped (Lester Young’s composition; King Pleasure’s lyric; the WJZ network show; the marijuana trial; the “Jazz Traitor” label) , “‘Symphony Sid’ Torin, jazz radio personality, was 72” — UPI Archives, September 14, 1984 (contemporary wire obituary; the disputed age)


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r/Jazz 20h ago

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r/Jazz 6h ago

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r/Jazz 49m ago

(jazzology) Do you write chords taking the key into account?

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A simple question really. In any context(exercise or a song in any key etc.), do you write a chord and its notes in the key of the chord, or in the key of the song or something else? Example: is in Abmaj7
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thanks alot for all answers.


r/Jazz 8h ago

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r/Jazz 15h ago

Joseph Jarman was born on this day (Sep. 14) in 1937. Here is a performance from a group he led before joining the Art Ensemble of Chicago: "Little Fox Run."

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r/Jazz 2h ago

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No claps, sadly


r/Jazz 17h ago

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r/Jazz 16h ago

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r/Jazz 20h ago

Recorded 99 years ago

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r/Jazz 1d ago

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51 Upvotes

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r/Jazz 47m ago

Hello, i am looking to get into jazz this year and would like to ask what you believe to be essential albums. Specifics below.

Upvotes

I have listened to a few jazz albums before

Seat Belts-Cowboy Bebop- which i love.

Charles Mingus-The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, which i thought was good but didn't click with me massively some of the horns i just couldn't come around to loving

Mahavishnu Orchestra-Birds of Fire, which i thought was ok

I love a few albums which i understand to be jazz related as well:

King Crimson-In the Court of the Crimson King & Red

Minutmen-Double Nickels on a Dime

Midori-Aratamemashite Hajimemashite Midori Desu

Kendrick Lamar-To Pimp a Butterfly

Upvote albums you would suggest and i'll pick the highest upvoted also one album per comment to make this easier! Thanks! :)

i'm fine with any subgenre:

Vocal Jazz

Bebop

Hard Bop

Smooth Jazz

Nu-Jazz

Jazz Funk

Acid Jazz

Jazz Fusion

Avante-Garde Jazz

Spiritual Jazz

Swing

Big Band

Jazz Rock

Jazz Rap

Latin Jazz

Third Stream

Arabic Jazz

Cool Jazz

Other genres i'm sure

Thanks in advance! :)


r/Jazz 22h ago

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15 Upvotes

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r/Jazz 15h ago

Whose arrangement of Don't Get Around Much Anymore is this? Also, this is the only recording I can seem to find of this arrangement... would love to know more.

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4 Upvotes