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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Alice Grace Quintet @ The Black Bull. June 19

Alice Grace (vocals), Paul Gowland (tenor, alto & soprano saxophones), Peter Gilligan (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass) & Russ Morgan (drums) + Roly Veitch (guitar)
(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Roly Veitch.)
A Weaver of Dreams. It couldn’t get any better, could it? Alice Grace singing a favourite song, Paul Gowland playing tenor and, sitting-in on the first two numbers, Blaydon Jazz Club’s Roly Veitch. A first visit to the Black Bull for vocalist Alice Grace, and the place was busy. First heard in the north east at a late night Gateshead Jazz Festival jam session, Ms Grace is building an ever-growing fan club having recently relocated to Tyneside.
Blaydon Jazz Club is a bastion of the Great American Songbook. Alice Grace knows the cannon, sings it, and embraces a wider, more contemporary repertoire. Choosing to open with A Weaver of Dreams was a good move. The regulars were onside! Black Orpheus/A Day in the Life of a Fool similarly met with approval. Gowland switched to soprano, PG – Peter Gilligan, piano – accompanied and soloed as well as he has ever done, and, guest in his own manor, Roly Veitch played in his distinctive, understated ‘no hurry’ style. RV stepped down, saying he didn’t know any more tunes, leaving the stage to Alice Grace.

Ms Grace brought a tune new to the Black Bull; The Sky is There (comp. Lars Jansson) with lyrics added by our vocalist. Paul Gowland blew great tenor and the number is likely to become a fixture in the set. Ms Grace is a composer; Peter Gilligan stated the theme on The Long Road, PG – Paul Grainger, bass – stepped into the spotlight and at this juncture things became somewhat confusing. Grace acknowledged Grainger’s efforts exclaiming: Paul Gowland! The boys in the band laughed, our singer oblivious. Later to be informed of her error, Grace apologised to PG (Paul Grainger). Apology accepted, what happened next? Another solo contribution, this time from PG (P Gilligan), met with Grace saying: Paul Gowland! Much hilarity. Ms Grace opted to use first names only…Paul, Peter and Russ.

Anthropology taken, as elite athletes might say, at ‘eye balls-out’ pace, featured Gowland, alto, Grace (a bebopping horn), Gilligan killing, Grainger cruising in the fast lane and the brilliant Russ Morgan (drums) closed out a superb first set. A discerning jazz fan who has seen and heard all the greats had just heard Alice Grace sing for the first time. Effusive in praise of Ms Grace: pitch-perfect, wonderful, wow! the superlatives just kept on coming!

Alice and Peter opened the second set as a duo with Tom Jobim’s Two Kites plus Norma Winstone’s affecting lyrics. Abbey Lincoln’s Throw It Away got to the heart of the matter – your scribe’s notes read: serious jazz! This was it. Russ Morgan’s brushwork and hand drumming just so good, Gowland’s tenor, AG’s scatting. Windows (comp. Chick Corea)  with AG’s value added lyrics, described by our discerning fan as: very challenging. The Black Bull’s audience stayed with it. Peter Gilligan introduced Alice Grace to Autumn Nocturne. Ms Grace introduced the tune to Blaydon with a superb vocal intro, Gilligan’s piano playing absolutely top drawer. To say goodnight, Alice Grace sang If I Knew Then, What I Know Now. What a tune! What a performance! Swinging like nobody’s business, with the audience on its feet, Alice Grace deservedly won rapturous applause.
 Next month at Blaydon Jazz Club it’s the annual visit of Colin Aitchison. A Hong Kong-based trumpeter and vocalist, the ex-pat Geordie jazz man always delivers the goods in a fun-filled performance. Expect to hear some proper trumpet playing and an amazing take on Louis’ vocal style. Accompanying Colin on his ‘working holiday’ will be the knock-out clarinetist Franco Valussi. The Reunion Band – Colin, Franco, Steve Andrews, Roy Cansdale and Roly Veitch – will be travelling from all four corners of the globe to meet up and play a few tunes. Jazz at its best. Sunday 10 July, eight o’clock, £5.00 on the door.                  
Russell.

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