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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise 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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio + Abbie Finn @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

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.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

John Wilson Orchestra: That's Entertainment - A Tribute to the Golden Age of the MGM Musicals. Sage Gateshead

(Review by Lance)
This afternoon we abandoned the jazz hat and, instead, stepped out in top hat, white tie and tails - figuratively speaking. John Wilson and his huge orchestra - I lost count - presented That's Entertainment - A Tribute to the Golden Age of the MGM Musicals.
And what a tribute it was by an orchestra totally attuned to the task in hand. The Overture comprised a medley of songs from several of those glorious films whose heyday ran from the 1930s through to the 1950s and, in the process, set the scene for the two vocalists Anna Jane Casey and Matt Ford.
Cole Porter's Stereophonic Sound (Silk Stockings) made for an amusing (lyric-wise) opener by the duo, followed by Ford's sensitive interpretation of The Girl Next Door (Meet me in St. Louis). Casey, looking ravishingly thin in a tight red gown, sang Lady is a Tramp (Pal Joey) and Judy Garland's version of You Made me Love You/Dear Mr. Gable (Broadway Rhythm of 1938). Ford returned to join Casey for We're a Couple of Swells (Easter Parade), the orchestra played a sensuous version of Dancing in the Dark (The Bandwagon) before the two singers sang the song that reputedly has the longest ever title - How Could You Believe me When I Said I Loved You When You Know I've Been a Liar All my Life? (Royal Wedding).
Casey wrapped the set up with I Got Rhythm (Girl Crazy) which featured a lot of  fine playing from the various sections - the violins being particularly impressive.
Everyone was beaming (apart from the couple next to us who seemed to begrudge standing up to let us past!) it had been an absolute delight and there was more to come.
The duo made a brief appearance during the overture to the second set with a quick half chorus of Singing in the Rain (picture of same name), Ford sang You Were Meant For me (Singing in the Rain), Casey - now in a shimmering light coloured gown - gave us Love (Ziegfield Follies) and Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine (Showboat).
The orchestra returned to Cole Porter for a medley from High Society with Ford singing I Love You Samantha from the same show and a trumpet player whose name I didn't catch doing the Satchmo bit
Then a real show-stopper from Casey - Thanks a Lot But no Thanks (It's Always Fair Weather - sung in the film by Dolores Gray).
Gershwin's ballet suite from an American in Paris brought things to an official close but as always there was an encore and today it was Everybody Sing (Broadway Melody 1938).
And everybody was singing as they left (apart from the miserable gits sitting next to us. It had been a joyous afternoon and if I'd been able to get a  ticket I'd have done it all again in the evening. But, of course, the evening performance was sold out which was how the afternoon performance came about in the first place.
Yes, as I said, a joyous occasion. However, as so often happens, one discovers that joyousness is not infinite...
The Quaylink bus, normally a dependable mode of transport, turned up half an hour late causing problems for those with trains to catch from Newcastle.
Lance.
PS: In case anyone doesn't know it already, the scores were taken down and transcribed note for note by John Wilson, the originals having been destroyed when the heyday was over!

3 comments :

Liz said...

how come you write such a great review when all I could see was the occasional sight of that special pen?Yes a truly wonderful show, world class I would say, my fave was "Dancing in the Dark"and thanks Lance and friends for making this such a super afternoon...despite the late bus and missed train!Liz

Alphafemale (on Twitter) said...

the trumpet player is the lovely Mike Lovatt :-)

Liz said...

and what a pedigree he has!!

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