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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17328 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 612 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (Sept. 5).

From This Moment On ...

September

Tue 10: ???

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:30pm. £4.00. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’.
Thu 12: The Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Pete Tanton & co.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Donna Hewitt, Bill Watson, Dave Archbold, Adrian Beadnell, Mark Hawkins.

Fri 13: Jeff Barnhart & Neville Dickie @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Two pianos, two pianists! SOLD OUT!
Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Dilutey Juice @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.00. adv..
Fri 13: Ray Stubbs R & B All-stars @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Classic blues.

Sat 14: Jeff Barnhart’s Silent Film Fest @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 14: Customs House Big Band w. Ruth Lambert @ St Paul’s Centre, St Paul’s Gardens, Spennymoor DL16 7LR. 7:00pm (6:45pm doors). Tickets £10.00. from the venue or tel: 01388 813404. A ‘BYOB’ event.
Sat 14: Emma Wilson @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00. Acoustic blues.
Sat 14: Rat Pack - Swingin’ at the Sands @ Billingham Forum. 7:30pm.

Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Jude Murphy, Steve Chambers & Sid White @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Panharmonia @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Swing Manouche @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: John Hallam with the James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert!

Monday, June 06, 2016

Raymond MacDonald & Gunter ‘Baby’ Sommer @ The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle - June 5














Raymond MacDonald (Alto/soprano); Gunter ‘Baby’ Sommer (drums/perc).
(Review by Steve H/photos courtesy of Ken Drew.)
As the sunlight  over the railway bridge  poured through the bay window into the upstairs room  at The Bridge on Sunday night the audience were not only blinded by the sun’s rays but also by the brilliant radiance of the magnificent duo on stage.  It is easy to be prone to hyperbole when enthusiastically reviewing a gig from the night before but I can honestly say that was one of the best gigs in over 40 years that I ever had the pleasure of attending.
Sommer had driven his kit over from Dresden for this short tour and it was well worth the mileage such was the fascinating variety and range of instruments he transported.
From the off it was obvious that there was a close bond between the two protagonists as the interplay and improvisation on display appeared effortless. Unlike much heavily improvised music, the music was accessible and melodic at all times and I’m sure those who may have been put off by the ‘On The Outside’ label would have thoroughly enjoyed this evening.  
MacDonald has a beautiful tone on both alto and soprano and this was really emphasised by a solo piece he performed during the first set. Sommer is a fascinating stylist and augments proceedings with wonderful atmospheric chanting.  This set concluded with the pair lifting a wooden chest to the front of the stage which was a German-made copy of a similar African instrument; the sounds and rhythms Sommer was able to extract from this ‘box’ together with Macdonald’s subtle accompaniment was spectacular.
The second set began where the first left off Sommer played another amazing bit of kit – a metre wide circular cymbal (which appeared to resemble an upturned Moroccan tea table top) rested on the floor of the stage producing the most phenomenal sound. This set also featured a percussion solo which seemed to encompass all of Sommer’s great qualities of improvisation, musicality, technique and humour. At one point he was pretending to hit the drums whilst making the percussive sounds vocally. At the conclusion of the gig, the audience burst into sustained heartfelt applause. Both MacDonald and Sommer thanked the audience for their contribution to the evening. As an encore, Sommer accompanied his partner on the jaw harp. The pair then exited the room still playing allowing the music to drift to a sumptuous close. It was one of Sommer’s late compatriots who wrote a tune which summed up the evening perfectly ‘Ode to Joy’.
Steve H.

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