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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tanfield Railway, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. A '1940s Weekend' event.
Sat 23: Jason Isaacs @ Stack, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 23: Andrew Porritt & Keith Barrett @ Cullercoats Watch House, Front St., Cullercoats NE30 4QB. 7:00pm.
Sat 23: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Country blues.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Jazz Esquires @ Porthole - Nowt as funny as folk!

Miles Watson (tpt/vcl/dms); Terry Dalton (tmb); Andy Lee (alt); Tony Winder (ten/sop/fl/clt); Roy Gibson (keys); Robin Douthwaite (gtr); Stan Nicholson (bs); Laurie Brown (dms/vcl/clt).
When enquiring if today's session was on - many have fallen by the wayside owing to the holiday season etc.- Miles assured me that the show would go on comparing it to The Windmill who didn't close during The Blitz. Of course the famous London Theatre had only The Luftwaffe to contend with. The Porthole was faced with an invasion of Folk Musicians and their camp followers who arrived armed with penny whistles, guitars, fiddles, mandolines, bodhrans, banjos, accordions, melodions and a few other weapons of mass destruction. I gave them a listen and I wasn't sure if they played a 100 choruses of 3 tunes or 3 choruses of a 100 tunes.
Scurrying back to the "Jazz Room" One O'Clock Jump marshalled Dad's Army a.k.a. the Jazz Esquires into a rearguard action and, by the time Laurie Brown had taken the final drum break we knew the invaders had been repelled and contained in the bar.
Miles chantez C'est Magnifique and blew trumpet like Buck (this damn keypad!). Tuxedo Junction, In a Mellowtone and a storming Tiger Rag were a few other memorable moments.
Andy blew nice pre-Parker alto, Tony had moments on tenor and Terry scored on trombone. It's a good band that straddles the line just north of Dixie thanks to some good arrangements. Teresa (pictured) belied her venerable years with a spritely I'm Confessin' and an evocative Sway.
Meanwhile, at the far end, the tune continued as fiddlers fell and were replaced seems like the whole world and their instruments were fighting to be in.
The Esquires just laid back and blew - Laurie even had a go at Moonglow on clarinet with Miles on drums.
If our Ann Alex had been here she'd have been worn out dashing from one room to the other!
Photos.
 Lance.
PS: For Ann (see comments) some Penny Whistle Jazz.

2 comments :

Ann Alexander said...

Do readers realise that you can play jazz on a penny whistle, which is usually classed as a folk instrument? I can play 'Them There Eyes'. Mind, I'm not saying it's good, and I'm not quite ready to start my own band yet!
Ann Alex

Anonymous said...

I was in the Porthole Pub last week and I really
enjoyed the Jazz Esquires.
All good players and soloists.
The bass player was excellent but was not given any credit or solo's! (Yes I am a Bass Player)
One other thing was the trumpet player was very bad at starting and sometimes tried for high notes he couldn't reach. Apart from that excellent entertainment!!!

Tom Hunter

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