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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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

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).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Friday, February 06, 2015

Levee Ramblers New Orleans Jazz Band @ St Joseph’s CMS Club, Birtley. February 5

Dave Rae (banjo & vocals), Mick Hill (trumpet & vocals), Liz Bacon (clarinet), John Robinson (double bass) & Paul Bacon (drums)
(Review by Russell).
Bourbon Street Parade, Clarinet Marmalade and Creole Love Call, the first three tunes of the Levee Ramblers’ set at Birtley Jazz Club’s February gathering. A low turn-out (a common occurrence across many north east venues) failed to dampen spirits. Dave Rae and his band of dedicated New Orleans specialists got on with it, playing for the regular few and, perhaps, themselves.
A pint of Theakston’s Mild at a give away price of £2.41, convivial company and a top class jazz band – the place should have been bursting at the seams. In reality the concert room resembled the desolate, faded ballroom in They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? A lone couple had the floor to themselves, clinging to fading memories of the Oxford Galleries. Liz Bacon’s achingly fragile clarinet spoke of Careless Love, crying on the shoulder of Mick Hill’s muted trumpet and Dave Rae’s plaintive vocals.
An interval rendition of Happy Birthday to one of the few – the birthday boy was on the wrong side of twenty one – and a bottle of whiskey offered as a raffle prize, St Joseph’s is taking it month to month. There will be a session in March, beyond that, who knows?
Second set Mick Hill sang Exactly Like You, then we heard St Louis Blues and, by way of a request, Liz Bacon played Petite Fleur for the first time in a long time. Running Wild ran wild (Dave Rae, vocals) and, as if to restore some semblance of order, the spiritual In the Highways (I’ll Be Somewhere Working for My Lord) commanded respect.
A Weary Blues was anything but; the Levee Rambers are at their best with a spiritual or a blues. If Paul Bacon isn’t an honourary citizen of New Orleans then it’s high time he was. A disciplined drummer of the genre, any aspiring drummer in any style should make it a priority to check him out. And Mr Bs rhythm partner, the phlegmatic John Robinson, is a bassist of quiet authority, making the Levee Ramblers a top class outfit fully deserving of a bigger audience than they usually play to. An enjoyable evening.    
Russell.             

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