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Bebop Spoken There

Kelly Sill: "Just because everyone is playing through the changes in the same time doesn't mean they're actually playing together" - (JazzTimes March/April 2023).

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!"

Postage

15260 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 279 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (March 29).

From This Moment On ...

April

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 04: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 04: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations. Feat. John Pope, Marie Shreer, John Garner.
Thu 06: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 06: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Note earlier start time.

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 07: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 07: Finntet + Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.
Fri 07: TBA @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.

Sat 08: Me Lost Me + Ceitidh Mac + Heather Ferrier @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 7:30pm. JNE.
Sat 08: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED from last week (Sat 01).
Sat 08: Robbie Reay @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Acoustic blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sat 08: Anth Purdy @ Mr Tighe's, Bebside, Northumberland. 8:30pm.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

IAN CHRISTIE R.I.P.

Back in the early days of trad-dom Ian Christie was frequently heard at Newcastle City Hall with the bands of Mick Mulligan and Alex Welsh. He later, along with brother Keith, re-formed the Christie Brothers' Stompers. Trombonist Keith eventually joined Johnny Dankworth to pursue a more modern path giving the musical press licence to refer to them as the 'Christies ancient and modern'.
Ian himself would say, "The name's Christie as in the serial killer."
As well as playing clarinet he also worked as film and music critic for the Daily Express.
Sadly, when I typed "Ian Christie" into the "Daily Express" search engine it came up with "Sorry, no results found for Ian Christie please try again."
Be that as it may jazz fans will always remember Ian for his clarinet playing which was rooted in New Orleans and he stood equal to his contemporaries such as Archie Semple, Wally Fawkes, Monty Sunshine, Acker Bilk and Sandy Brown.
Ian died Jan 19, 2010 aged 82.
Lance.
PS: Time may have coloured my opinion of Ian's playing. In his well known autobiography (well one of them), "Owning Up", George Melly describes Ian's playing as "...a continuous stream of notes played at approximately the same volume from the first bar of a number to the coda. As a result his solos, when on form, were often beautiful in an unpretentious and restrained way, but in ensemble, because he didn't listen to what the rest of the frontline were up to, had no give or take. Furthermore he had a bad memory for arrangements. This suited Mick (Mulligan) very well, as it gave him a perfect excuse not to hold rehearsals.
"What's the use cock?" he would ask. "Ian can never remember new numbers."
Be that as it may I certainly enjoyed hearing him all those years ago.

1 comment :

Paul Dawson said...

Hi. I had the great honour of being a member of Ian's (ir)regular band for the last ten years or so of his life, and can say with confidence and some authority that he remained a fine player. He told me that, since returning to playing after a long break, he'd resolved to try never to play any phrase he didn't 'hear' in his mind, and this helped to make his later playing even more individual and distinctive than it had been earlier in his career. Ian was a genuine talent, an irreplaceable link to a glorious jazz past, and a wonderfully witty and generous man. I'll always be grateful to him for all of his help and encouragement, as well as his friendship. I'll miss him.

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