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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Postage

16051 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1058 of them this year alone and, so far, 12 this month (Dec. 6).

From This Moment On ...

December

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle. 1:00pm. £7.00.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Prudhoe Community Band @ Central Station, Newcastle. 10:00am - 12 noon. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 09: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 1:00pm.
Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Alan Law, Paul Grainger & Abbie Finn @ Darlington Market, Market Square, Darlington. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘Christmas Market’ outdoor gig. Wrap up warm!
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Hot Fingers @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 14: After Hours Student Jazz Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. . Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 14: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Mo Scott ‘Little Mo’s Festive Appearance’ @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club w. Kevin Eland, Josh Bentham, Garry Hadfield, Adrian Beadnell @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Monday, August 01, 2016

Musicians Unlimited @ The Park Inn. July 31

(Review by Russell)
Musicians Unlimited’s weekly gig at the Park Inn is an institution. For several years the session at the Studio on Tower Street drew large crowds and the move along the road to the Park Inn didn’t deter the band’s faithful followers. The band’s winning formula is a simple one: a welcoming venue, the musicians on the stand are some of the best around and the pad comprises much-loved numbers.
The train journey from Newcastle to Hartlepool on this sunny Sunday morning afforded  panoramic views out to sea; Tees-bound tankers lying offshore, the dark Cleveland Hills against a blue sky backdrop. The Park Inn’s split level layout sees the band set up on the upper tier, the audience seated and standing on the lower level. A choice of three or four real ales, the pick being Doom Bar, for no other reason than if it (the beer) had made the effort all the way from Rock, Cornwall, it should be sampled.
Queen Bee (arr. Sammy Nestico) opened the set with John Hudson (tenor) taking the first solo of the afternoon. MD Mick Donnelly likes to keep things moving with his one-liners buying the band a precious few seconds as they leaf through the pad looking for no. three hundred and something. I’ve Got You Under My Skin sang the fundraising Peter, the first of the day’s fearless vocalists. You know the tune – hear Jill Nelson’s baritone and a Milt Bernhart – sorry, Dave Brock, trombone blast. Excellent stuff all round! Ray Dales (alto) and Bill Watson (trumpet) had a blow on Killer Joe followed by the second of our singers keen to show what they could do. Linda sang Almost Like Being in Love. Linda appeared to believe she didn’t do so well – not a bit of it, Linda did more than alright!

That’s Life! So sang Tommy. What a performer! Singing to the back of the hall, our man projected to the cheap seats in this sold-out Carnegie Hall concert. Tommy! Tommy! It’s the Park Inn, not NYC. Let’s not spoil the illusion/delusion, this was great entertainment! The fundraising Dave, steady as you like, sang Fly Me to the Moon with Sue Ferris’ flute accompaniment as good as we’ve come to expect. Jill Nelson’s spot-on baritone matched Phil’s vocals on Witchcraft. The fabulous fundraising vocalists were troupers all.

Musicians Unlimited’s regular vocalist Mr Bob Caswell – a favourite of BSH’s big band aficionado Tony Eales – sang several numbers including Nice and Easy and I’ve Got the World on a String. Hearing Mr Caswell’s nonchalant, swinging style, it’s easy to see why Eales rates him so highly. The band went out on Sweet Georgia Brown. Next week’s one o’clock start is the last one until September. Musicians Unlimited can be heard a week on Thursday at Jackson’s Landing. This is a major fundraising gig, it’s free admission, but a donation on the night would be appreciated. Things get under way at 6:30pm with several events planned and with Musicians Unlimited on the bill, it’s sure to be a great night out!                    
Russell.           
Mick Donnelly (MD); trumpets: Alan Catherall, Bob Temple, Kevin Eland, Bill Watson; trombones: John Day, Dave Brock, Helen Grainger, Peter Morgan; reeds: John Hudson (tenor), Sue Ferris (tenor & flute), Ray Dales (alto), Danny Allan (alto), Jill Nelson (baritone); Bryn Jones (piano), Mick Shoulder (double bass) & Ernie Jackson (drums) + Bob Caswell (vocals) + the fabulous fundraising vocalists: Linda, Dave, Peter, Phil & Tommy.

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