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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Dean Stockdale Trio - Cherry Tree Restaurant, March 11, 2013

Dean Stockdale (piano), Neil Harland (bass), Stuart (drums)
(Review by JC.)
This gig was generally advertised as Dean Stockdale plays Oscar Peterson, which seemed a bit of a mis-match, as Dean looked young and quite fit whereas the last time I saw Oscar he was definitely carrying a few extra pounds and rumour had it he hadn't picked up a tennis racket for years. So I was pretty sure this gig wasn't going to go the full five sets. However as it happened, the encounter never got to even a tie-break as the Big Man didn't show and Dean had to play for both of them - and boy, didn't he do a good job!
I have to say I'm a big fan of these gigs where local musicians explore the music of a particular jazz artist, as it's a great way to re-engage with the musician's work. Previous shows dedicated to Miles, Bill Evans and Thelonius Monk have had me digging out old albums and CDs and listening again with great enjoyment (and of course we shouldn't forget Djangologie, who do a great job with the Hot Club style).  And I'm hopeful that the gigs playing the music of Charlie Mingus and John Coltrane will come around again (at the Cherrytree , maybe?) The added bonus is that you also get a potted history of the musician's life and work, which for me at least, adds greatly to the overall effect.
Dean started the evening by immediately addressing the standard image of Peterson as a big man in a stylish suit playing the piano brilliantly, but at 90 miles an hour - 'the fast fingered Canadian' as one person has described him.  He talked about the quality of his compositional skills based on his classical training, but also how he was rooted in the blues. This was illustrated very nicely by the first number, Kelly's Blues. Then Dean talked about the purpose of Etudes in classical music that are used to demonstrate a particular technique, and he described how Oscar had written many of these from a jazz intonation which he illustrated with Blues Etude. The next piece was based in Peterson's love of his homeland and was from a longer work called Canadia and this was followed by a beautifully complex (and mainly solo) version of Body and Soul (the 'granddaddy of all standards' Dean claimed, somewhat controversially). These first four pieces demonstrated perfectly the variety and subtlety of Peterson's work and were very well played.
We then had Sushi written for a tour of Japan and a beautiful jazz waltz, Love Ballade, written for his daughter, Celine. These were followed by Cakewalk, which Peterson wrote after his stroke in 1993 when his left hand was quite badly affected. It still sounded pretty good to me. However, my favourite was from one of Peterson's most well known albums, Night Train, and the track he played was Hymn to Freedom. I was immediately transported back 40 years to the back room in my friend's house where we used gather in the early hours of the morning to listen to jazz. He had a complex sound system of a turntable wired into a four-foot high speaker he had built himself and then into an old valve radio to give a pseudo stereo effect and he always managed to procure key jazz albums. Night Train was one of those and Hymn to Freedom was a bit of an anthem at the time.
At the end of the first set Dean introduced the ever-dependable Neil Harland on bass and Stuart on drums, who was sitting in very competently for the indisposed Paul Smith. I didn't catch his second name (if it was mentioned) but maybe he just has one name, like Sting or Bono.
Unfortunately, circumstances decreed that I had to leave early in the second set but in certainly sounded as if this was going to provide an equal number of delights. I left the Cherrytree with the final notes of Georgia on my Mind, again from Night Train, pursuing me out the door. As usual, the food and service were of a high standard, so overall a great night.
JC

1 comment :

DS said...

I should mention it was Stuart Hakeny as a last minute drum replacement. Dean

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