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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

Sat 09: Prudhoe Community Band @ Central Station, Newcastle. 10:00am - 12 noon. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 09: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 1:00pm.
Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
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.

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Alan Law, Paul Grainger & Abbie Finn @ Darlington Market, Market Square, Darlington. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘Christmas Market’ outdoor gig. Wrap up warm!
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

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.
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.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Dave Newton & Dean Stockdale @ The Globe Jazz Bar - March 15.









Dave Newton & Dean Stockdale (keys).
(Review by Lance/Photo courtesy of Ken Drew)
The number 22 bus takes you practically to the door of The Globe so it was but a short hop from Havana à la Hoochie into the unknown - the unknown being whether a two piano set, even one by two such formidable performers as Dave and Dean, would pull the punters.
The downstairs bar was doing good business with concertgoers seeking refreshment prior to an evening of Spandau Ballet at the Arena.
Upstairs too was near to standing room only as the audience slaked their thirst in eager anticipation.
We weren't disappointed.
A long reflective intro saw both players feeding off each other before stomping into Lady be Good.
This "Lady" wasn't just "Good" she was "Sensational"! Likewise Miss Jones. Jobim's Triste, St Thomas, Over the Rainbow and Cheek to Cheek were other twenty fingered outings that pleased, as did a solo slot for Dean On the Sunny Side of the Street.
During the break Dean revealed he'd taken lessons from Dave some years ago and it showed inasmuch as, despite their differing styles they were, nevertheless, very compatible.
The second round - sorry, I mean set - opened with the ever delightful Alice in Wonderland followed by a rolling stock blues boogie. Was it Pinetop, Meade Lux, Johnson or Yancey? No, it was John Clayton's Blues For Stephanie - it rocked the room.
Like Someone in Love, four handed stride on Tea For Two, My Romance (or was it Here's That Rainy Day?) had Dave not only flying solo but also pressing the guitar button on the Clavinova to the effect that by closing your eyes he really was playing guitar!
On Green Dolphin St and some fun with Rhythm changes then it was all over.
Or was it?
Of course it wasn't!
An audience member stood up and shouted (she really did) "Play Misty For me!"
Well even though Clint Eastwood wasn't around they did.
A fitting end to a rather wonderful day.
Lance.

11 comments :

stevebfc said...

Such as shame that two such gifted musicians couldn't find a tune less than 50 years old to play.

Lance said...

Thank goodness two such gifted musicians didn't find a tune less than 50 years old to play!

Anonymous said...

Ha - take that!

stevebfc said...

Not keen on that band either although Robbie has penned a couple of decent numbers

Bill Harper said...

Being domiciled in France, I obviously didn't catch the two piano concert at the Globe but I am amazed that anyone could find fault with the programme which was certainly taken from that treasure trove, the GREAT AMERICAN SONG BOOK. There were tens of thousands of beautifully constructed songs written during this period (1920--50) which allow inventive jazz musicians to improvise in a harmonic or modal fashion. Any pianist worth his salt will have hundreds of these firmly implanted in his head, to be produced & reconstructed at the drop of a hat. I am not familiar with Dean's work but I do know that Dave is a great devotee of TGASB, as I once had to do an unrehearsed two piano set with him at the Bude JF which was great fun, although I was hanging on to his coat tails most of the time but Hey, who isn't? I have always felt that a concert of this nature should contain material that the audience, in the main, will recognise & to avoid including obscure or one's own pretentious compositions. Obviously Dave & Dean didn't think that anything from outside of the TGAB was worthy of inclusion in their programme & who am I to argue with that? In any case it would allow them to select their proramme with virtually little or no rehearsal needed. Anyway how do you find good songs since the 60s as the art of good song writing died with the advent of Rock & Roll & Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Lance said...

My sentiments exactly Bill - Long Live the GASbook!

stevebfc said...

I am amazed that someone who didn't actually attend the concert can pass comment on it's content given that you can't possibly now how the pieces were actually perfomed(as it happened they were performed with great panache) if you honestly think that there has been no decent original music composed since 1960 then with all due respect you opinion is meaningless. I have no problem with standards especially if performed in a creative and original way but as a jazz fan I particularly enjoy the new and unexpected. Having said that the vast majority of the audience seem to agree with you - so what do I know?

eric mckenzie Stutt said...

Well said Bill .

JC said...

Explaining recently why he had decided to do an album of Great American Songbook numbers associated with Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan said: 'I don't see myself as covering these songs in anyway. They've been covered enough. Buried, as a matter of a fact. What me and my band are basically doing is uncovering them. Lifting them out of the grave and bringing them into the light of day.'

Liz said...

Buried! never! and as for lifting them out of the grave, sorry Bob Dylan, they have never been out of the light of day, and yes I agree with Bill Harper, there has been no good song writing since the 60's. Lloyd Webber's stuff is repetitive and boring. GASbook will live forever, recorded by all the greats, and appreciated by anyone who understands a wonderful lyric and arrangement

Lance said...

Proof of the gasbook's durability lies in the number of artists who approach, shall we say The September of Their Years? suddenly discover the legacy of music they have chosen to ignore in their glory days - it's akin to seeking "the grey vote". Dylan may well be sincere - I have yet to hear the album - just as, I'm sure, Rod Stewart, Robbie Williams, Westlife and others were before him but...
Tony Bennett summed it [the sixties] up when he said, "All of a sudden you had to write your own songs as if Kern and Porter weren't good enough!"

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