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Bebop Spoken There

Delfeayo Marsalis: "Slide Hampton once told me that it's not always the person that is playing the highest or playing the fastest that's making the greatest impact." - (DownBeat March 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

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 20: Central Bar Quintet plays Wes Montgomery @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm. Feat. Joe Steels.

Tue 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 21: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass guitar); Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

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.

Monday, December 07, 2015

New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ The Black Bull – Dec 6

(Review by Russell/Photos courtesy of Roly.)
In the first of two concerts during December at the Black Bull the New Century Ragtime Orchestra made its Blaydon Jazz Club debut. Any fears that Dave Kerr’s outfit would be too big to fit onto the compact stage were quickly dispelled. NCRO music stands skirted front of stage, musicians cheek by jowl, either side of Steve Doyle’s weather-beaten bass drum. Vocalist Caroline Irwin sat off stage, periodically taking to the floor in front of the band to sing a selection of songs. Master of ceremonies Steve Andrews likewise opted to sit with a pint listening to his band mates, rising to regale the audience with his scholarly – and frequently hilarious – observations of the classic jazz era, its composers, musicians and larger than life characters.
Sweet Jennie Lee and A Ragtime Dance confirmed keys, valves and fingers were in good order and Caroline Irwin likewise confirmed her vocal chords were up to it (lubricated by a glass of Deuchar’s) singing a brace of tunes including Am I Blue? Neville Hartley made his trombone presence known on a number associated with the Fletcher Henderson band – the wonderfully titled What-Cha-Call-‘Em Blues.
A 1903 number (early period for the New Century, some nineteenth century material is in the book) Belle of the Philippines composed by Fred F Stone had Andrews wondering out loud…What did the initial F stand for? Diligent research by Kerr and the boys solved the mystery. It couldn’t be anything other than ‘Flint’! A two-trumpet feature for the bearded Graham Hardy and the clean shaven Alistair Lord – Paddlin’ Madelin’ Home – with the band’s ‘boy’ vocalist Jim McBriarty in the spotlight, met with audience approval.
Twenty-something pianist Ian Wynne took centre-stage (for reasons of on-stage logistics he remained exactly where he was) with a piano solo feature on James P Johnson’s Mule Walk Stomp. The Black Bull crowd loved it. Quite right, too!
Second set highlights were many. A hot take on The Terror (Cliff Jackson and his Crazy Cats circa 1930) upped the ante and Ms Irwin responded with I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby and the arresting Get Out and Get Under the Moon (Graham Hardy with a fine muted contribution). The band’s latest recording – Singing in the Bathtub – was all but certain to get a mention (it did, more than once, yours for a tenner) and Mr McBriarty duly sang the eponymous number. Ellington’s Black Beauty heard the muted Hardy and plungered Hartley. The oddly titled Crazy Quilt exemplified the band’s collective talents – across all sections – in making light of yet another exacting arrangement.
MC Andrews sought to make comparison between a hirsute Graham Hardy and Henry Red Allen. The bearded Hardy doesn’t physically resemble Allen, doesn’t speak with an American accent…Andrews was struggling, the audience laughing. Perhaps best to let a fine trumpet player do the talking, musically speaking (with one verse from vocalist Jim McBriarty), on Patrol Wagon Blues. Mark it down as the highlight of the evening.
The rhythm section – Keith Stephen, Phil Rutherford and Steve Doyle – (and band) sent us on our way with a rabble-rousing take on Limehouse Blues. Dave Kerr’s New Century Ragtime Orchestra is an amazing project, a labour of love for those involved. On leaving the Black Bull someone said the band, without a guest star, is the way to hear the band. A moot point, but well made. What made this gig work so well was the against-the-odds set up of a larger ensemble performing in a small space in close proximity to the audience. A return visit would be most welcome.
Blaydon Jazz Club’s Christmas party night – Sunday Dec 20th – is an annual occasion in the dairy of all Black Bull regulars. This year’s concert will feature the BB Trio – Jeremy McMurray, Roly Veitch and Neil Harland with special guest James Birkett. The music, of course, will be first rate and with an interval buffet to tuck into there couldn’t be a better way to end another year of great jazz at the Black Bull. It’s an eight o’clock start and feel free to bring a small culinary contribution to the buffet. 
Photos.             
Russell.
Steve Andrews (MC, tenor saxophone & clarinet),  Jim McBriarty (alto saxophone, clarinet & vocals), Alan Marshall (tenor & alto saxophones, clarinet), Gavin Lee (tenor saxophone & clarinet), Graham Hardy (trumpet), Alistair Lord (trumpet), Neville Hartley (trombone), Ed Cross (violin), Keith Stephen (guitar & banjo), Ian Wynne (piano), Phil Rutherford (sousaphone), Steve Doyle (drums) & Caroline Irwin (vocals)

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