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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

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.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Film Review: The Geordie Jazzman

The late Keith Crombie was very much his own man - you loved him or you hated him. I loved him, as did 99% of the audience at a press showing of Abi Lewis' amazingly perspective take on a character who was, without argument, the most charismatic of any non-playing jazz person in the north east - ever! The applause that followed the credits, proof of how well Abi's film captured her subject.
Based on a series of interviews with Crombie - acquaintances refer to him as Keith but, to close friends and bitter enemies, he was 'Crombie' - we delve into the man and try to discover what made him tick.
Music meant so much to him whether it be jazz, early rock and roll or rhythm and blues.  The film captures all this and more. His encyclopaedic knowledge, helped by a collection of books that rivalled the average library, enabled him to hold his ground on just about any subject. I recall one Sunday afternoon, when things were quiet in The Caff, after discovering I lived in Hebburn, he produced a host of info on the history of shipbuilding on the Tyne before switching to Stan Laurel who, he told me, once appeared on stage in Jarrow!
Throughout the film, similar quirky moments are revealed - too many to mention here - suffice to say the audience laughed along.
Eric Burdon had his own memories of Pink Lane and there were clips of more recent gigs from the old days.
Don Forbes and Mark Robertson, as one-time resident musicians at The Caff, provided more insight.
However, words can only paint a small picture. When it's at a cinema near you, on DVD or online this is one film you mustn't miss - if you ever went to the Jazz Café who might even find yourself caught on camera.
After the deserved applause - we should have been standing - Abi Lewis, Eric Burdon and two others whose names, embarrassingly escape me took part in a short forum,
Down in the bar, Pete Gilligan, Paul Grainger, Gypsy Dave Smith, Lindsay Hannon and Don Forbes provided the music - there were others waiting in the wings - but the number 27 bus was already approaching the Tyne Bridge so I had to bid adieu to my best ever film premiere (it was also my first) but, even if I'd been to every one since Gone with the Wind this would still rate pretty high. More importantly, it was an emotional tribute to a Tyneside Icon.
He fought the law and the law won - or did it?
Photos.
Lance.

1 comment :

Unknown said...

It's wonderful that Keith Crombie should be remembered rather than disappear into oblivion. Throughout Newcastle's history characters such as Bobby Shaftoe, Bessie Surtees and John Marley have earned immortality. In modern times it's more difficult to achieve that level of celebrity; nowadays most of the city's local heroes have tended to be footballers. However, it's fair to say that Keith Crombie merits that status and I like to think that this film will be the beginning rather than the end. There are some like myself, I can think of Sheena Conroy and Dave Ismay, who, fifty years ago, considered ourselves to be among his good friends. Nevertheless, we were considerably younger and always called him Keith out of authentic respect and affection rather than the curt, Crombie. I'm sure there are many who have favourite memories and anecdotes; my own involves the time he saved me from a good kicking by using the starting handle from his jeep as a weapon of mass destruction. Keith had a good intellect and many fine qualities and I look forward to seeing the film.

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