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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 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!"

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

Postage

16051 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1058 of them this year alone and, so far, 12 this month (Dec. 6).

From This Moment On ...

December

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Hot Fingers @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 14: After Hours Student Jazz Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. . Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 14: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Mo Scott ‘Little Mo’s Festive Appearance’ @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club w. Kevin Eland, Josh Bentham, Garry Hadfield, Adrian Beadnell @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 15: Paul Edis @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Paul Skerritt @ Black Horse Inn, Crook. From 7:00pm.
Fri 15: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ St Cuhtbert's Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. SOLD OUT! Waiting list open.
Fri 15: Zoë Gilby Trio @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £12.00. POSTPONED!
Fri 15: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. First night of two. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Baghdaddies @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00.; £10.00.

Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm. A Jazzy Christmas + Jambone.
Sat 16: Porritt & Barrett & Friends Xmas Special @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:00pm. £4.00.
Sat 16: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 16: Red Kites Jazz Band @ The Staithes Café, Gateshead. 7:00pm--9:00pm.
Sat 16: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Ellingham Village Hall, Chathill. 7:30pm. £12.00., £8.00.
Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sat 16: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Second night of two.

Sun 17: Red Kites Jazz Band @ Gibside Chapel, nr. Rowlands Gill. 1:00-2:30pm.
Sun 17: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm.
Sun 17: Revolutionaires @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Rock ‘n’ roll excellence!
Sun 17: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Alehouse, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 17: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Multi-bill inc. David Gray’s Flextet + jam session.
Sun 17: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £17.00., £15.00.
Sun 17: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Amble Parish Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sun 17: Snake Davis Trio @ St John’s Hall, Snods Edge, Shotley Bridge DH8 9TJ. 7:30pm. £15.00. from 07766 037893.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

CD Review: The Buck Clayton Legacy Band - Claytonia

Matthias Seuffert (clt/ten/co-leader); Alyn Shipton (bs/co-leader) Menno Daams/Ian Smith (tpt); Adrian Fry (tmb); Alan Barnes (alt/clt); Martin Litton (pno); Martin Wheatley (gtr); Norman Emberson (dms).
(Review by Lance)
When something like this drops through the letterbox amidst the plethora of boundary pushing CDs  that Joe the Postie usually brings from near and far it is like a cool breeze in a heatwave although Claytonia is neither cool nor hot. What it exudes is warmth.
All the arrangements are by the late Basie trumpet star Buck Clayton and bequeathed to bassist, BBC presenter and friend of Buck, Alyn Shipton. German reedman, and frequent visitor to the various Whitley Bay Jazz Parties and Festivals, Matthias Seuffert, adapted Clayton's charts for this ensemble . To further emphasise local connections, the CD was recorded live at the 2011 Gateshead International Jazz Festival at Sage Gateshead. For some reason I missed this in favour of Subway Moon in Hall One - boy did I call that one wrong! One who didn't get it wrong was Derrick Cogger - see his review as it happened. I even missed the broadcast that followed so this CD fills in a massive hole in my jazz listening life.
The music is beyond compare except perhaps by Clayton's own band but, as these compositions were never recorded, that is mere conjecture. What is certain is that few, if any, British bands have ever quite captured this sort of middle period swing. Humph and Kenny Baker probably came closest. Indeed the final track, Sir Humphrey, is dedicated to HL.
There are too many goodies to list. The trumpets do the great man justice, Fry slides around with the agility of Urbie Green and maybe just a suggestion of Vic Dickenson's wryness. Sueffert has the big sound associated with Bean, Chu or Frog. Man for all seasons Barnes is in a liquid, languid, mood stating the theme on a rather wonderful tune - I'll Make Believe - a tune I'd never heard before. Put words to it and the Gasbook would have been further enriched. A tremendous arrangement incorporating a snatch of Blue and Sentimental. Elsewhere Barnes incorporates his own phenomenal technique into some lines Benny Carter may have dreamed up.  Martins Wheatley and Litton slot into the rhythm section with ease and solo superbly. Shipton is not only an A list jazz broadcaster and author but he is also rock solid on bass. Emberson is that perfect drummer - a back seat driver.
Now I'm just going to play it again, and again and again, in case I've missed something.
As regards my CD of the year, at this point in time, all bets are off!
Lance.
Claytonia by the Buck Clayton Legacy Band is available on BCLB001
Checking it out on Amazon that amazoning site came up with Similar albums - Miles Davis: Bitches Brew! Trust me, they're further apart than Saatchi and Nigella!

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