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Bebop Spoken There

Steve Fishwick: “I can’t get behind the attitude that new is always somehow better than old” - Jazz Journal, April 15, 2019,

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

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

December

Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:30pm. £7.50.
Sun 03: The Central Bar Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. The Central Bar Quartet plays Lou Donaldson’s Gravy Train. Featuring Jamie Toms.
Sun 03: Paul Skerritt @ Smith’s Arms, Carlton, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:00pm.
Sun 03: Johnny Hunter Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 03: Jam session @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 04: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ People’s Kitchen, Bath Lane, Newcastle. From 5:30pm. On-street gig supporting the work of the People’s Kitchen charity. Wrap up warm! Donate!
Mon 04: Michael Young Trio w Lindsay Hannon @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Mon 04: Durham University Jazz Orchestra + Durham University Big Band @ Durham Castle DH1 3RW. 8:30pm. £6.00.; £5.00. concs; £4.00. DSM. ‘Jazzy Christmas’.

Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church, Cleadon. 7:00pm. Concert in the church hall. BYOB.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Sid White. The best free show in town!

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 8:00pm. Free. Note later start time, concert performance (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. 12 noon - 4:00pm. £26.00 (inc 3-course meal in in St Mary's Lighthouse Suite). SOLD OUT!
Thu 07: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 07: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.Donations. Feat. Mark Sanders.
Thu 07: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00. Downstairs.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

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: 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: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Abbie Finn Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm.
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.

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Mike Durham’s Classic Jazz Party @ The Village Hotel. Nov 4, evening

(Review by Russell/photo courtesy of Patti Durham & Emrah Erken)
After dinner, Hot Strings guitarists Martin Wheatley and Spats Langham entertained the audience with their typically understated, largely unamplified, duo set. Diners returned to the concert hall, claimed their allocated table for the evening, and readied themselves for Keith Nichols’ command: Stomp off, Let’s go! The American big guns sat alongside the European reeds section; Bix’s man, Andy Schumm and Duke Heitger, trumpets, with Jim Fryer, trombone, making his debut at the Village Hotel, added lustre to the occasion. The reeds – the versatile Robert Fowler, the excellent Richard Exall and the impressive young Norwegian Lars Frank – demonstrated that the music of 20s Chicago has long-since been assimilated by musicians this side of the Atlantic. A busy Spats Langham returned to the engine room to knock out the rhythm (guitar and banjo) with sousaphone master Mr Phil Rutherford and the amazing Nick Ball, percussion. Nichols, in good humour, cracked his usual quota of one-liners in between directing from the Kawai piano, finding time to take a swipe at Earl Hines, no less! It was, of course, self-deprecating, jocular fun, cursing the piano great for leaving a difficult legacy to uphold. It should be noted Mr Keith Nichols acquitted himself admirably. Later vocalist Mellow Baku (pictured) joined the orchestra. More of Ms Baku later.
Annette Hanshaw sang for half an hour in the company of piano accompanist Mr Martin Litton. Our vocalist was, of course, Ms Janice Day. A small combo setting of Emma Fisk, Martin Wheatley, bassist Malcolm Sked and urbane reedsman Jean-Francois Bonnel gave Hanshaw/Day the opportunity to shine, singing You’re the Cream in My Coffee (of which Day informed the full house that Marlene Deitrich sang the number screen testing for The Blue Angel), Button Up Tour Overcoat and Am I Blue?

The New Orleans Wanderers arrived on North Tyneside without Louis Armstrong. Bent Persson, cornet, took the part of Louis’ dep George Mitchell (contractual arrangements in 1926 excluded Armstrong from a studio recording date) in what was, effectively, the Hot Five. The participation of Thomas Winteler, reeds, underscored the historical accuracy of the Chicago session of ninety years ago. Bent Persson’s set drew on the arranger’s talents of Claus Jacobi and Graham Hughes' passable take on Kid Ory in playing a great set with tunes including Gatemouth and a hot Too Tough.

Friday’s closing set presented The Music of Alex Hill. Pianist, composer and arranger, in 2016 Hill is an almost forgotten figure. Leonard Feather described Alex Hill thus: One of the better and less recognized arrangers of the early swing era. Menno Daams’ one hour review of Hill’s all-too-short career (Hill was dead at thirty) featured Rico Tomasso and Duke Heitger, trumpets, Frenchmen Jean-François Bonnel and Henri Lemaire, the larger than life Richard Pite, drums and the most impressive David Boeddinghaus (piano). I’m Crazy About My Baby set the bar high, yet greater heights were achieved tune after tune.      
A superb end to events in the concert hall. A jam session followed into the small hours in the adjoining Victory pub. 
Russell.                

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Another fab day and evening - jazz heaven!
The photo credit should read Emrah Erken, by the way.

Lance said...

Apologies - now corrected.

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