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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 20, 2015

A New Band Hits Town! The Gala Theatre Big Band Gala - Theatre, Durham April 19.

(Review by Jerry)
The availability of bottled Double Maxim (my preferred match-day tipple) made this feel like a visit to the Stadium of Light – but without the pain! Here there were only winners: Durham City with a new big band; Paul Edis, the band-leader; the band as a whole who gave such an excellent debut concert; the many soloists who bravely conquered first-night nerves and, above all, the audience (150-200, I guess) who lapped it up from start (Miller’s In the Mood) to finish (Basie’s One o’Clock Jump)! And there were some brilliant hats and waistcoats too!

Miller was followed by Edis – a blues self-mockingly (and erroneously) entitled Diminishing Returns. The blues were then immediately banished by Sammy Nestico’s foot-stomping arrangement of Sweet Georgia Brown, the musicians visibly relaxing now and enjoying great ensemble playing. Five brave “volunteers” then joined Edis at the front of the stage to perform two funky / bluesy numbers: Hancock’s Watermelon Man and Nat Adderley’s Work Song. Great stuff!
            Next up was another Edis original, the slow, muted, elegiac Too Sad for Words. And then, Dur-ham, Dur-ham, Dur-ham Dur-ham, Dur-ham…(why not?) Mancini’s Pink Panther got us back in the swing before the first set closed with another Nestico arrangement: All of Me. Time for another bottle of Houghton-le-Spring’s finest…..
            A train whistle (I kid you not!) from behind the closed red curtains announced the start of the second set and we were all whisked away on Strayhorn’s A Train. Those of you who have the recent CD of the same name would have recognised Mr Hipster which lent itself well to a big band treatment and provided an interesting comparison with the earlier Henry Mancini piece. This Edis original more than holds its own!
            My wife’s favourite Basie piece, Li’l Darlin, followed smoothly on from there. I hadn’t realised (jazznoramus) that this was actually composed by Neal Hefti, a name new to me and soon to be heard again as the band-leader introduced their penultimate number, Splanky. This really was a full-throttle (or “regulator” if we were still on that train!) sound from a very big band and it left the audience shouting for more. Which they got, in the shape of the aforementioned One o’Clock Jump.
            “When’s the next one?” was a question I heard from several exiting musicians. This was their first full concert in public: I too hope, like long awaited buses (or trains?), another will come along very soon. They were stars, every one!
Jerry.
Band-leader – Paul Edis
Trumpets -Dave Skipsey, Lis Hammond, Tom Rillands, Anthony Darwin, Edd Maughan
Trombones- Darcy Whyatt, Ian Cargill, Andrew Hedges, Thomas Hunter, Chris Gallon
Saxes- (Altos) Neil Owen, Beth Pollard, Francesca Sensier, Judith Wood-Archer
(Tenors) Peter Little, John Bowman, Rebecca Devine, Steve Williams
(Baritones) Katherine Humpleby, Alan Smith, Lindsay Smith
Flute - Kirstin Unwin Clarinet - Victoria Bainbridge
Guitar - Francis Tulip Piano - George Hetherington Bass - Richard Bower/Owen Jones
Drums - Alex Kennedy


1 comment :

Unknown said...

Thanks for all your comments! We certainly did. Hope you enjoyed our first outing everyone! Ian Cargill ( Trombone)

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