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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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

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 + Abbie Finn @ 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: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
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.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Saturday, December 03, 2016

Jambone @ St James’ & St Basil’s Church. Dec 2

(Review by Russell)
Jambone, Sage Gateshead’s youth jazz ensemble performed in concert in a church setting on Friday evening. St James’ and St Basil’s in Fenham, Newcastle welcomed an audience of family, friends and supporters of the band on a rain-swept night. Wine and nibbles and, perhaps surprisingly, an above-freezing venue augured well.
Jambone’s Musical Director, Dr Paul Edis played an introductory solo composition at his well-travelled keyboard. The church piano stood idly by – perhaps it wasn’t up to scratch. Montage (comp P. Edis) focused the collective mind of the congregation. The Jamboners were champing at the bit and a couple of them stepped forward to join Edis to play on the evergreen On Green Dolphin Street

Edis introduced the Ben Lawrence Trio. The pianist, B. Lawrence, the same B Lawrence, trumpet, of the hothouse Early Bird workshop band, played three tunes in the company of Alex Shipsey, bass and Dylan Thompson, drums. A bop anthem for starters – Anthropology – gave the trio the opportunity to show what they could do. The echoing acoustics, not the best, Thompson sensibly chose to use brushes for much of the evening. The waltz-time Someday My Price Will Come is a challenging tune for the more experienced musician and it is to the credit of the young trio that they gave a good account of themselves. Lawrence’s intro to the third and final number – Beatrice – caught the ear, and it was Edis who subsequently informed the audience that we had been listening to Robert Glasper’s 7/8 arrangement. Well done, lads!

Following a short interval the full band assembled on stage. In recent times Jambone has experienced administrative difficulties but under Edis’ guidance, the ensemble is now able to boast a full complement in all sections. Indeed, the band’s rhythm section featured not one but two drummers as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich sat at the back ready to engage in   friendly battle. The Coast (comp P.Edis) introduced the band’s two flautists – Ms Megan Robinson and Ms Imogen Davies-Pugh – with further solo contributions from another of the Early Birds, pianist Philip Grobe, and the impressive guitarist, Matthew Downey.

Edis wanted to play something Christmassy…if you must (bah humbug!). Well, what do you know? Something akin to Thomas Tallis’ Forty Part Motet revealed colourful, and, at times, wonderful, near-dissonant, voicings. 3/4 but not 3/4 did what it said on the tin. Enjoyment is key, and band members were clearly enjoying themselves, exemplified by the always smiling Alex Shipsey, bass. The penultimate number of the evening featured altoist Alex Thompson. Standing out front, Alex played When All is Said and Done. One astute listener remarked: He’s got a great tone.

To close the concert, TS Monk (a religious calling for some!) with Edis’ arrangement of the great man’s Bright Mississippi. Jambone is going from strength to strength. Soloists pepper the sections – the aforementioned flautists, Nick Caughey (returning from a first term at university to play the gig), trumpet-player Lucien Guest alongside the versatile Lawrence and another Early Bird talent, James Metcalf. Oh, yes…Krupa and Rich, aka Rory Gardener and Dylan Thompson! The band gigs regularly. Hear them at HQ (Sage Gateshead, December 10) with further prestigious gigs in the book in 2017.


Jambone: saxophone: Nicholas Caughey, Ryan De Silva, Henry Schmid, Ella Talbot; flute: Megan Robinson, Imogen Davies-Pugh; trumpet: James Metcalf, Ben Lawrence, Lucien Guest; trombone: Darcy Whyatt, Kate Garnett; piano: Phillip Grobe; guitar: Matthew Downey; bass: Alex Shipsey; drums & percussion: Rory Gardener, Dylan Thompson                                    

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