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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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

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 @ 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: '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.

Monday, July 06, 2015

Colin Aitchison, Franco Valussi & Steve Andrews @ The Black Bull. July 5


Colin Aitchison (trumpet & vocals), Franco Valussi (clarinet), Steve Andrews (tenor saxophone), Roly Veitch (guitar) & Roy Cansdale (bass guitar) +Jim McBriarty (clarinet)
(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Jeanie Aitchison)
Crossing the Redheugh Bridge menacing storm clouds hung over Blaydon. They weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Fork lightning, sheet lightning…welcome to Blaydon! On this Sunday night the weather didn’t play ball. Fine weather all week, then an hour before gig time thunder and lightning threatened to make it a wash-out. Jazz club organiser Roly Veitch ran through a few things with guests ex-pat trumpeter Colin Aitchison and clarinet maestro Franco Valussi. Would anyone turn-up?
Eight o’clock; few people had taken their seats. Two numbers in and latecomers made for a respectable turn-out. In a Mellotone then Sugar. It made braving the elements worth it, well worth it. The frontline – Aitchison, Valussi and Steve Andrews (tenor) – had already laid down top rate solos and more were to follow. Moten Swing, Royal Garden Blues, the small group swing absolutely immaculate. Aitchison asked Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans? in his brilliant take on Satchmo’s classic vocal style. So impressed was Steve Andrews that he wondered out loud: What you been drinkin?’ This the first of   Andrews’ many witty asides.
Aitchison asked Veitch (guitar) to set the tempo on China Boy. The tempo set, the boys in the band did their best to keep up! Fabulous rhythm section work from Veitch, and all the way from Gloucestershire, bassist Roy Cansdale. Aitchison and Andrews were in need of a rest (visit to the bar) and left it to Hong Kong-based Italian clarinetist Franco Valussi to show what he could do on Moonglow. FV is a great musician – it is a treat to hear him on Tyneside. Rhythm ace Veitch threw in a top solo on A Smooth One ahead of Aitchison’s solo feature I Want a Little Girl (trumpet and vocal). The Wallsend-born Aitchison plays great trumpet, sings, and, something of a rarity, is an entertainer into the bargain. Playing second fiddle, Steve Andrews nevertheless impressed. Every time he blew tenor it was so good. His solo feature – East of the Sun (West of the Moon) – encapsulated his sound, so much a fan of Coleman Hawkins.  
Kowloon has a fabulous clarinetist, so does Newcastle. Byker-born Jim McBriarty joined the band for a few tunes kicking off with Crazy Rhythm. All excelled, not least Cansdale, undemonstrative yet on top of it. Indiana pitched the two clarinetists into the spotlight. A contrast in styles, singularly masterful of instrument. A Sunday night in Blaydon offering world-class jazz. Can you believe it? It rained Pennies from Heaven (McBriarty and the rhythm strings superb) sang Aichison. Rosetta and more. Tune after tune, great playing.
In a fortnight – Sunday 19th – the Black Bull is the place to be to hear the Ruth Lambert Trio. Ms Lambert will sing original compositions and a choice selection from the Great American Songbook in the company of master guitarist Giles Strong and Mick Shoulder (double bass). This concert is one for lovers of the intimate interpretation of a lyric. See you there.   
Blaydon Photos (Recent).    
Russell.            

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