Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Steve Fishwick: “I can’t get behind the attitude that new is always somehow better than old” - Jazz Journal, April 15, 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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Postage

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

December

Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:30pm. £7.50.
Sun 03: The Central Bar Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. The Central Bar Quartet plays Lou Donaldson’s Gravy Train. Featuring Jamie Toms.
Sun 03: Paul Skerritt @ Smith’s Arms, Carlton, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:00pm.
Sun 03: Johnny Hunter Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 03: Jam session @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 04: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ People’s Kitchen, Bath Lane, Newcastle. From 5:30pm. On-street gig supporting the work of the People’s Kitchen charity. Wrap up warm! Donate!
Mon 04: Michael Young Trio w Lindsay Hannon @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Mon 04: Durham University Jazz Orchestra + Durham University Big Band @ Durham Castle DH1 3RW. 8:30pm. £6.00.; £5.00. concs; £4.00. DSM. ‘Jazzy Christmas’.

Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church, Cleadon. 7:00pm. Concert in the church hall. BYOB.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Sid White. The best free show in town!

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 8:00pm. Free. Note later start time, concert performance (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. 12 noon - 4:00pm. £26.00 (inc 3-course meal in in St Mary's Lighthouse Suite). SOLD OUT!
Thu 07: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 07: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.Donations. Feat. Mark Sanders.
Thu 07: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00. Downstairs.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Abbie Finn Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

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

Blog Archive