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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.

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, March 16, 2015

Dave Newton & Dean Stockdale @ The Globe Jazz Bar - March 15.









Dave Newton & Dean Stockdale (keys).
(Review by Lance/Photo courtesy of Ken Drew)
The number 22 bus takes you practically to the door of The Globe so it was but a short hop from Havana à la Hoochie into the unknown - the unknown being whether a two piano set, even one by two such formidable performers as Dave and Dean, would pull the punters.
The downstairs bar was doing good business with concertgoers seeking refreshment prior to an evening of Spandau Ballet at the Arena.
Upstairs too was near to standing room only as the audience slaked their thirst in eager anticipation.
We weren't disappointed.
A long reflective intro saw both players feeding off each other before stomping into Lady be Good.
This "Lady" wasn't just "Good" she was "Sensational"! Likewise Miss Jones. Jobim's Triste, St Thomas, Over the Rainbow and Cheek to Cheek were other twenty fingered outings that pleased, as did a solo slot for Dean On the Sunny Side of the Street.
During the break Dean revealed he'd taken lessons from Dave some years ago and it showed inasmuch as, despite their differing styles they were, nevertheless, very compatible.
The second round - sorry, I mean set - opened with the ever delightful Alice in Wonderland followed by a rolling stock blues boogie. Was it Pinetop, Meade Lux, Johnson or Yancey? No, it was John Clayton's Blues For Stephanie - it rocked the room.
Like Someone in Love, four handed stride on Tea For Two, My Romance (or was it Here's That Rainy Day?) had Dave not only flying solo but also pressing the guitar button on the Clavinova to the effect that by closing your eyes he really was playing guitar!
On Green Dolphin St and some fun with Rhythm changes then it was all over.
Or was it?
Of course it wasn't!
An audience member stood up and shouted (she really did) "Play Misty For me!"
Well even though Clint Eastwood wasn't around they did.
A fitting end to a rather wonderful day.
Lance.

11 comments :

stevebfc said...

Such as shame that two such gifted musicians couldn't find a tune less than 50 years old to play.

Lance said...

Thank goodness two such gifted musicians didn't find a tune less than 50 years old to play!

Anonymous said...

Ha - take that!

stevebfc said...

Not keen on that band either although Robbie has penned a couple of decent numbers

Bill Harper said...

Being domiciled in France, I obviously didn't catch the two piano concert at the Globe but I am amazed that anyone could find fault with the programme which was certainly taken from that treasure trove, the GREAT AMERICAN SONG BOOK. There were tens of thousands of beautifully constructed songs written during this period (1920--50) which allow inventive jazz musicians to improvise in a harmonic or modal fashion. Any pianist worth his salt will have hundreds of these firmly implanted in his head, to be produced & reconstructed at the drop of a hat. I am not familiar with Dean's work but I do know that Dave is a great devotee of TGASB, as I once had to do an unrehearsed two piano set with him at the Bude JF which was great fun, although I was hanging on to his coat tails most of the time but Hey, who isn't? I have always felt that a concert of this nature should contain material that the audience, in the main, will recognise & to avoid including obscure or one's own pretentious compositions. Obviously Dave & Dean didn't think that anything from outside of the TGAB was worthy of inclusion in their programme & who am I to argue with that? In any case it would allow them to select their proramme with virtually little or no rehearsal needed. Anyway how do you find good songs since the 60s as the art of good song writing died with the advent of Rock & Roll & Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lance said...

My sentiments exactly Bill - Long Live the GASbook!

stevebfc said...

I am amazed that someone who didn't actually attend the concert can pass comment on it's content given that you can't possibly now how the pieces were actually perfomed(as it happened they were performed with great panache) if you honestly think that there has been no decent original music composed since 1960 then with all due respect you opinion is meaningless. I have no problem with standards especially if performed in a creative and original way but as a jazz fan I particularly enjoy the new and unexpected. Having said that the vast majority of the audience seem to agree with you - so what do I know?

eric mckenzie Stutt said...

Well said Bill .

JC said...

Explaining recently why he had decided to do an album of Great American Songbook numbers associated with Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan said: 'I don't see myself as covering these songs in anyway. They've been covered enough. Buried, as a matter of a fact. What me and my band are basically doing is uncovering them. Lifting them out of the grave and bringing them into the light of day.'

Liz said...

Buried! never! and as for lifting them out of the grave, sorry Bob Dylan, they have never been out of the light of day, and yes I agree with Bill Harper, there has been no good song writing since the 60's. Lloyd Webber's stuff is repetitive and boring. GASbook will live forever, recorded by all the greats, and appreciated by anyone who understands a wonderful lyric and arrangement

Lance said...

Proof of the gasbook's durability lies in the number of artists who approach, shall we say The September of Their Years? suddenly discover the legacy of music they have chosen to ignore in their glory days - it's akin to seeking "the grey vote". Dylan may well be sincere - I have yet to hear the album - just as, I'm sure, Rod Stewart, Robbie Williams, Westlife and others were before him but...
Tony Bennett summed it [the sixties] up when he said, "All of a sudden you had to write your own songs as if Kern and Porter weren't good enough!"

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