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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.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Hot Fingers: Customs House, South Shields: Friday April 19.


Thomas ‘Spats’ Langham (banjo, guitar, ukulele, vocals, wearing spats); Danny Blyth (guitar, mandolin, clarinet, bass clarinet, triangle, vocals); Malcolm Sked (bass, tuba, vocals)
(Review by Ann Alex)
What a fun night was enjoyed by all, including Lucy (aged 7, I suppose) sitting at our table, when this band played to a full house, giving us loads of tunes and songs from the 1920’s, many anecdotes from Spats about the composers and performers of the past, and amusing crazy lyrics in many of the songs.  
They certainly knew how to write a happy song way back then.  I quote:   ‘God charges no rent’ (from the singing of Al Bowlly, in The Old Man Of The Mountains); robots mentioned for the first time in the song Persian Rug; from the song It All Belongs To Me (about a likeable woman), ‘a disposition like a sugar bowl’.
From a 1925 song about a beautiful woman: ’she could take a Scotsman out to shop’.
And of course, very skilled playing from the band.  Spats' banjo was wonderfully tuneful with varied tones, the best banjo I’ve heard anywhere. Danny Blyth is a skilled multi instrumentalist, blowing, plucking and tapping, and it was good to see such an unusual instrument as the bass clarinet, which stands on a spike like a cello.  And I mustn’t forget the triangle, you don’t see many of them at jazz do’s. Malcolm Sked was a faithful anchor man, with the rude-sounding tuba and a steady bass which produced good tunes.  You had to be there to fully appreciate the chat and humour, but if I mention some of the songs, you’ll get the idea.  We had Shanghai Shuffle; Change Partners; Leisure Town; Skirts (this was recorded by Billy Cotton);The Harry Lime Theme; A Russian Lullaby; In A Persian Market; Doux Ambience; Good Little Bad Little You; Brother Can You Spare A Dime? (this was banned in the USA originally); You Can’t Get To Heaven That Way (the audience clapped along); Besame Mucho (the audience sang the chorus); By A Waterfall; Nagasaki; Buona Sera.
The evening was rounded off with a well-deserved encore  I’ll See You In My Dreams.
Good all round jazz-based entertainment, which could be enjoyed by non-jazzers as well, and would be an excellent introduction to jazz for beginners.  
Ann Alex
   

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