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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 2024.

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...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Sunday, November 01, 2015

Buck Clayton Legacy Band @Sage Gateshead – a postscript

(Review by Hugh C).
Following Russell's excellent (and accurate) review I would like to add my two penn'orth (1/21st of Three and Six if my maths is correct!).
The brave few ventured forth on the Saturday morning following to attend the Buck Clayton Legacy Band Workshop.   We duly arrived and were ready and waiting (watches synchronised) outside the Northern Rock Foundation Hall at 0955h sharp.  After a while one of the Sage Gatehsead stewards arrived and seemed surprised to find the the tickets we eagerly proffered clearly bore the words Start Time:  10:00 AM.  The band apparently were under the impression that the workshop commenced at 10:30 AM!  One disgruntled punter muttered the word ridiculous, but, hey man – that's Jazz!
The upside was we had time to grab a coffee to take in.  As we entered the Hall the band's instruments were already laid out on their stands ready.  The full line-up from Friday night were there by 1020, no-one looked the worse for wear, although the trombonist, Adrian Fry, did try and blame a lapse of memory during the morning on the earliness of the hour!
The workshop commenced with a rousing rendition of Cotton Tail.  The next musical item was Take the A Train – the first part in the arrangement used in the Friday gig and the second part straight.  The overall format of the morning was music/talk/music....  Alyn Shipton gave a brief introduction as to why the Buck Clayton Legacy Band were playing Duke Ellington (one of the reasons was that Buck and Duke were long-time friends, and indeed Duke Ellington was best man at Buck's wedding).  Each of the Legacy Band musicians was then asked to paint a word picture of the Ellington Band musicians who would have played their instrument(s).  Some of these pictures took the form of a question and answer dialogue between the band members.  The result was a fascinating insight into the history and practice of the Ellington Band and the approach that 21st Century musicians took to this music. 
The next musical item was an illustration of a contrafact - a term apparently only recently introduced to the remainder of the band by Alan Barnes.  A contrafact is a musical composition consisting of a new melody overlaid on a familiar harmonic structure (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrafact) and was beautfully illustrated by playing Johnny Hodges' Shady Side (as on the Friday evening), but this time  preceded by a short extract from On The Sunny Side of the Street.
When the time came for Bobby Worth (the self-declared oldest member of the band) to talk drummers he revealed the ace up his sleeve.  Bobby had actually seen the Ellington band play on two separate occasions in London. 
The morning was a tour de force, both on the part of the band themselves and the audience who numbered as many as a cricket team, but were richly rewarded and also contributed themselves to an informed and interesting discussion during the workshop.
The band (as we were informed on several occasions) had a gig to get to in Maidstone the same evening and were keen to get on the road.  An invited audience request of Mood Indigo provided an illustrative Ellingtonian ballad (exquisitely played) followed the band's choice of the more up-tempo Rockin' in Rhythm for a finale.
All in all an excellent combination – and congratulations to Ros Rigby and the Sage for programming these two events.  It's a shame that there was not a larger audience for the workshop, but this was more than made up for by the near sell-out attendance the evening before.
Hugh.

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