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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 2024.

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
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: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Monday, April 02, 2012

A Jazz Day Out. Sunday April 1.

A blue sky spring day. A train ride into the Deep South of Bebop Spoken Here Land. The Park Inn, Hartlepool, noon. A pint of Black Sheep, a packet of dry-roasted, the musicians arrive in dribs and drabs. The room was soon standing room only. They’ve done this before, some of them for twenty years or more – musicians and audience alike. 
Mick Donnelly’s Musicians Unlimited know countless tunes, so too the band’s loyal followers. A favourite of one and all at this gig is vocalist Bob Caswell. A veteran of the scene, he worked the room with consummate saloon-bar ease. All of Me, You Make Me Feel So Young, I’ve Got the World on a String,  Day In, Day Out, the list goes on and the applause went on and on. Mr. Caswell is a class act and it was a joy to hear this first class band behind him. 
Returning to Tyneside it was time for a bite to eat then on to the Sage via the Jazz Café’s jam session. It was early (house bass player Paul Grainger and pianist Alan Law were sitting having a natter), six o’clock is early in this joint - the advertised start-time was two o’clock or three o’clock depending which piece of publicity you read. Proprietor Keith Crombie operates on CrombieTime, a little known parallel universe and those of us not of this other world know we must sit and wait and wait…Law began to play a blues – it was good but it was time to go. 
The Sage, on the south side of the river, was about to present three of the very best regional youth big bands. Paraffernalia, the premier big band in the portfolio of the Gateshead Music Service performed with distinction at the recent Great North Big Band Jazz Festival. The programme at the Sage included The Chicken, Theme from Bullitt and Birdland. The seven-strong saxophone section comprised no fewer than six talented female musicians. It is to be hoped that they continue to make their way in the jazz world. 
Tees Valley Youth Big Band boasted a powerful trumpet section and  tackled a challenging arrangement of Herbie Hancock’s Chameleon
The third band to take the stage in the magnificent Hall One at the Sage was Jambone. The band, based at the Norman Foster designed facility, boasts some of the very best young musicians from the north east (some drawn from the ranks of Paraffernalia and Tees Valley Youth Big Band) and has the privilege of working with many of the jazz world’s greatest musicians (workshop and in concert). Woody Herman’s Apple Honey works every time - instant impact, a ‘rabble rouser’ without a doubt! The short set concluded with Andy Sheppard’s Gas and Air. The finale brought together all three bands (about sixty musicians) for a blast on Dog House and Live and Let Die.
Where next? A swift walk over the Swing Bridge, up Castle Stairs to the Bridge Hotel in time to catch the second set from Legohead. The trio played some new material (Military Medal and John to name but two) and threw in a couple of old favourites (and they have become favourites) in Clocks and Getaway Driver. The band’s debut CD is in the can and a CD launch gig is sure to follow soon. Two confirmed dates for the diary: next week Sunday 8 April - Splinter @ The Bridge presents Greg Spero, Andy Champion and Adrian Tilbrook. On Sunday 15 July Jambone have a spot at the prestigious Manchester Jazz Festival.
 Russell

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