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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.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Jeff Barnhart and Friends, Customs House, South Shields Friday August 24

Jeff Barnhart (piano); Anne Barnhart (flute); Mike Durham (trumpet) Derek Fleck (clarinet and tenor sax) Ollie Rillands (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex).
This was a thoroughly entertaining, enjoyable and educational gig.  I say educational because Barnhart gave us lots of information  about the  rag-time aspects of jazz,  and   interesting stories about such characters  as Fats  Waller.  When the rest of the musicians later took to the stage, I realised that  there wasn’t a sheet of written music to be seen.  You really need to know your instrument and your jazz to perform in this way, so well done everyone!
It   all  started  with the irresistible Maple Leaf Rag from 1899, closely followed by Black and White Rag.  Our  feet  were  still  tapping as Barnhart expressed admiration for the grand piano that  the  establishment  had  provided.  At  some  venues,  he  explained,  you just get a PSO, that is a ‘piano shaped object’. This is typical of the man’s wit.  The Entertainer was played as a blues with many variations, then  Twelth  Street  Rag  (1908)  slowly  at  first,  building  in speed, based on only three notes, as Barnhart pointed  out.   Next  came  the  same  tune as it would have been played by Fats Waller 35 years later, with a quick chorus of a song, commenting on the tune itself. All played in the  lively style of tuneful  right hand  and a left hand keeping a constant rhythmic thrust.  At this point Chopin   entered the scene with his Nocturne Opus 9 No. 2, played in the Fats Waller style.  Enter Jeff’s wife   Anne, no mean flautist, with a flowing tune, Water From an Ancient Well.  Other numbers played included   I Got Rhythm (flute and Piano swopping 4’s); At Twilight; and The Joint is Jumpin’.
The friends appeared for the second half, one of them being Mike Durham’s red, white, yellow and blue silk tie, which added lots of colour to the proceedings.  This half was the more usual jazz set-up of tunes with many good solos and also the occasional sung chorus;  the musical ‘feel’ was of the classic jazz.of the 1920s and '30s.  We heard standards such as I’ve Got my Fingers Crossed; Ain’t Misbehavin; Louisiana Fairytale; It’s a Sin to Tell a Lie (dedicated to all politicians, we were told); Yellow Dog Blues (just the piano); Some Day Sweetheart; My Very Good Friend The Milkman (sung by Mike); Shake it and Break it (with wonderfully effective drums).  The well-deserved encore was a romantically witty song When Did You Leave Heaven.  A good evening’s entertainment.      
Ann Alex.

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