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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

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.

Fri 15: Paul Edis @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Paul Skerritt @ Black Horse Inn, Crook. From 7:00pm.
Fri 15: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ St Cuhtbert's Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. SOLD OUT! Waiting list open.
Fri 15: Zoë Gilby Trio @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £12.00. POSTPONED!
Fri 15: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. First night of two. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Baghdaddies @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00.; £10.00.

Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm. A Jazzy Christmas + Jambone.
Sat 16: Porritt & Barrett & Friends Xmas Special @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:00pm. £4.00.
Sat 16: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 16: Red Kites Jazz Band @ The Staithes Café, Gateshead. 7:00pm--9:00pm.
Sat 16: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Ellingham Village Hall, Chathill. 7:30pm. £12.00., £8.00.
Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sat 16: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Second night of two.

Sun 17: Red Kites Jazz Band @ Gibside Chapel, nr. Rowlands Gill. 1:00-2:30pm.
Sun 17: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm.
Sun 17: Revolutionaires @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Rock ‘n’ roll excellence!
Sun 17: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Alehouse, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 17: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Multi-bill inc. David Gray’s Flextet + jam session.
Sun 17: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £17.00., £15.00.
Sun 17: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Amble Parish Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sun 17: Snake Davis Trio @ St John’s Hall, Snods Edge, Shotley Bridge DH8 9TJ. 7:30pm. £15.00. from 07766 037893.

Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival. August 26

 Zoë Gilby (vocals), Mark Williams (guitar), Andy Champion (double bass) & Richard Brown (drums)
(Review by Russell/photos by John Marlor)
Plush, deep Chesterfields. Plenty of them. Wood panelling, plush, deep carpets, this is the Francis Thompson Room. Impressive, the previous occupants at Ushaw College certainly lived well! Today, the room, with its full bar service, is an ideal, informal gig venue. The Friday evening concert presented one of Britain’s finest jazz singers – Zoë Gilby.
On a warm summer’s evening, Gilby began with a question: Is It Me? The first of several original compositions, it was an indication of the quality of writing and performance that it stood comparison with many tunes considered standards. Gilby has a stage presence of which some aspirants could learn much: a consummate performer, fully engaged with the music making of those sharing the stand with her. Gilby’s established band is top quality: Mark Williams, guitar, is a supreme accompanist and unrivalled in his solo excursions. A bass and drums partnership comprising Andy Champion and Richard Brown is as secure as any on the scene with Champion possessing amazing chops and Brown the epitome of taste and sensitivity.
Phil Lynott’s folksy Dublin came with a story – Gilby happened to meet, as one does, the mother of the late P. Lynott in the Irish capital. A chance meeting, of course, but one that led to the song being part of the set. Another original number, a waltz, In It Together then a reprise of our vocalist’s Pannonica set with a sparkling Straight No Chaser featuring M. Williams and A. Champion, not forgetting Gilby’s tongue-twisting lyrics!
The personal permeated the performance. The story of a Red Headed Girl from the North East of Nowhere opened with Champion’s resonant bass playing and the story unfolded – a time of carefree living, of living the life. The subject of Gilby’s tale just happened to be present on the evening. An interval conversation between Gilby and Ushaw Durham Jazz Festival’s artist in residence Dave Barden established a mutual appreciation of musician Tom Waits. Perhaps T. Waits overheard the conversation…a Barden portrait of the man in question took pride of place in the room as part of an exhibition of the artist’s work!

Second set. Guess what? T. Waits’ Way Down in the Hole! Vocal dexterity, instrumental facility, top class! Top class and tasteful apply to Mark Williams’ playing on Your Words and Gilby’s way-down-the-range vocal. Drummer Richard Brown’s mesmerising intro to Caravan  set up Messrs Williams and Champion to run riot. Thirties noir, all about object d’art, the base desires of the working class filtered through the prism of Patrick Hamilton on Midnight Bell.

And so to the finale, and what a finale. Red City – sand, souk and the sounds of the souk. A fixture in Zoë Gilby’s set, this Ushaw Durham performance was something else. By a County Durham country mile Gilby produced a magnificent, committed performance.           
Russell.            

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