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Bebop Spoken There

Kelly Sill: "Just because everyone is playing through the changes in the same time doesn't mean they're actually playing together" - (JazzTimes March/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

15260 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 279 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (March 29).

From This Moment On ...

April

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.

Tue 04: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 04: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations. Feat. John Pope, Marie Shreer, John Garner.
Thu 06: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 06: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Note earlier start time.

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 07: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 07: Finntet + Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.
Fri 07: TBA @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.

Sat 08: Me Lost Me + Ceitidh Mac + Heather Ferrier @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 7:30pm. JNE.
Sat 08: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED from last week (Sat 01).
Sat 08: Robbie Reay @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Acoustic blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sat 08: Anth Purdy @ Mr Tighe's, Bebside, Northumberland. 8:30pm.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Mark Toomey Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. May 17

Mark Toomey (alto saxophone), Jeremy McMurray (piano), Peter Ayton (bass & vocals) & Paul Smith (drums).
(Review by Russell)
Last heard leading the late-night jam session at last month’s Darlington Jazz Festival, alto saxophonist Mark Toomey made the journey up the A19 to play a gig at the Black Bull in Blaydon. Two sets featuring the music of Charlie Parker attracted the regulars to Blaydon Jazz Club’s monthly session. The region’s sax players were conspicuous by their absence - they missed a treat.
Parker disciple Mark Toomey likes nothing better than to play the music of the genius we know as ‘Yardbird’. Tunes, interspersed with a potted history of the ill-fated saxophonist, broadly in chronological order, made for an informative and entertaining presentation. An up tempo start with Cherokee almost went pear-shaped as Peter Ayton’s bass amp played up. As jacks and inputs were checked over, pianist Jeremy McMurray’s left hand worked overtime. Instrument and amp restored to rude health, Ayton delved way back to Parker’s days with Jay McShann singing Hootie Blues – great stuff!
Dizzy’s Groovin’ High, All the Things You Are…the realisation that every number was in the ‘classic’ category. Sit back and enjoy! Dial and Savoy sides (the often imperfect sides – lo-fi quality – somehow add to the legendary status accorded Parker) caught Toomey’s  ear, some transcribed by the Teesside-based altoist, such is the man’s devotion. A Night in Tunisia fizzed along (drummer Paul Smith’s rhythmic patterns spot-on) with the club’s former house pianist Jeremy McMurray laying down one of several fully-formed solos.
Now’s the Time (more from McMurray), Loverman as a samba (Smith again ‘on it’ and Ayton soloing effectively), the tunes flowed one after another. The test piece as Toomey rightly described it – Donna Lee – brought out the best in the quartet. Listening to Mark Toomey is a damn good approximation of Parker on record – ‘uncanny’ is the word. Out of Nowhere featured Smith’s first-rate brushes and an inventive McMurray solo complete with a stride pattern woven into the fabric of it. Parker’s Mood with its aching intro just about brought the evening to a close save for a brisk take on Love for Sale. A good night at Blaydon. Next month’s session (a Blaydon Festival special on Sunday, June 21) sees the return of the Sue Ferris Quintet. The diminutive Ferris is an accomplished musician (tenor and baritone saxes, flute), well respected on the local scene. Heard recently at the Great North Big Band Jazz Festival, Ferris was in stupendous form. If she breezes into the Black Bull firing on all cylinders it is sure to be a storming gig. Don’t miss it!                    
Russell.

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