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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 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!"

Postage

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 22: Brief Encounter @ Bardon Mill Village Hall, Northumberland. 7:00pm. Tickets: £10.00. adv from 07885 303166; £12.00. on the door. Chris & Veronica Perrin improvising to a screening of the 1929 'Jazz Age' silent film Piccadilly (Dir. Ewald André Dupont).
Fri 22: Paul Edis & Graeme Wilson + Three Tsuru Origami @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 22: Crooners @ Tyne Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 22: Abbie Finn's Finntet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tanfield Railway, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. A '1940s Weekend' event.
Sat 23: Jason Isaacs @ Stack, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 23: Andrew Porritt & Keith Barrett @ Cullercoats Watch House, Front St., Cullercoats NE30 4QB. 7:00pm.
Sat 23: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Country blues.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

The Road to Hong Kong with Colin Aitchison - Part Four.

Q: Ned Kelly’s, it sounds a fun place. Is it purely jazz or do you have to do a bit of everything?
A: Ned Kelly’s is 80%  Dixieland, the rest, 10% Swing & Latin Jazz with a little Be-Bop and  the other 10% are my cabaret spots, or as I call it, a little audience participation. There are times when we add a touch of Spike Jones.
Now when I say 80% Dixieland, I would not say it is "pure Dixieland". To give an example we play everything from Jelly Roll Morton’s “Black Bottom Stomp"  to  a little Latin jazz "Triste" to "Take Five". The  cabaret stuff -  well, that is me fooling around playing "Amazing Grace" on the tea-pot in 2 octaves, to doing a Louis taake on “What A Wonderful World"  with the Neds Glee Club (audience). "New York, New York" has been renamed "Mong Kok, Mong Kok" which is a notorious area here in Hong Kong. Some other fun routines are the rubber chicken on  12th Street Rag! The audience love it!
Post 1997 saw a dramatic change in the audience mix. Gone are the forces expats - we have a wonderful young Chinese following, who come to enjoy the fun and entertainment. It is a great and fun venue for office and birthday parties and celebrations of all sorts. We still host regulars from the numerous trade shows held here and of course, over the years we have had  visiting musicians and passengers from cruise ships,  US fleet personnel and US 7th fleet band
I would say our audience is a mix of locals, expats and  business people, with an age group from 18 year olds to 70+ year olds.  Neds has hosted some greats like Charlie Barnet, Rosemary Clooney, Matt Monroe, Sergio Mendes, Kenny Ball, Bob Wilber (pictured with Colin), Fred Wesley and in March this year we will have US trombonist Dan Barrett.
Q: You return to the UK on a yearly basis doing a few gigs with the local guys. Do you think you’ll ever return to stay?
A: As time goes by – cue for a song.  Every year on a return I do feel more at home.  They always say that you eventually come back to your roots, and if I was to return it would be to Tyneside. I would of course not be back to play full time. It would be just nice to play and enjoy playing when I want to. I am always deeply touched by the warm welcome that both Jeannie and I receive when we meet up with friends and musicians who have known me since I was a little boy and dad was around.
I have a couple of years to fulfil contracts in Hong Kong,  To think  that when I turned professional in 1976, and in all that time I’ve only been out of work for around one month,. I had to travel and I had to take chances and the gamble has paid off.   It will be a difficult decision to leave Asia. but yes... UK is still on the cards and if I did return, it would be to Geordie Land
Q: Unlike some musicians, you have a deep interest in the history of the music typified by your vast collection of vintage Melody Makers ?
A: What a great music paper that was, and one of my first jobs came from it. So definitely  a strong attachment.  Their reports and coverage of jazz and big bands from the 20's to the 70's  it's all there. I'm at present in the process of posting my collection on line on Flickr.  It's a time consuming task and I often find myself side tracked by wanting to read the many interesting articles that I come across. 
Colin.
(To be continued)

2 comments :

carstairs said...

When you come back you can make a start with scanning my collection of M . M and RHYTHM !
Meanwhile we look forward to July

CCJAZZMEN said...

John, would love to do that, but it is a big job, and you get so side tracked, but what great musical magazines and papers they were, and most of my jobs as a professional musician came from the MM in those days, yes looking forward to July, and some relaxed blows here and there.

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