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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 2024).

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...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

17328 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 612 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (Sept. 5).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning. £25.00. Enrol at: learning@jazz.coop.
Sat 07: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.£10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 07: Alligator Gumbo @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £15.00.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ BAA Fest, Brownrigg Lodges, Bellingham. 2:40pm.
Sun 08: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 08: Graham Hardy’s Eclectic Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 09: Mark Williams Trio @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 10: ???

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:30pm. £4.00. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’.
Thu 12: The Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Pete Tanton & co.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Donna Hewitt, Bill Watson, Dave Archbold, Adrian Beadnell, Mark Hawkins.

Fri 13: Jeff Barnhart & Neville Dickie @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Two pianos, two pianists! SOLD OUT!
Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Dilutey Juice @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.00. adv..
Fri 13: Ray Stubbs R & B All-stars @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Classic blues.

Tuesday, June 06, 2017

Notes from day two of Durham City Jazz Festival - June 2

(Review by Steve T/Photos courtesy of Carlo Viglianisi)
The day I was reunited with my old mate Al Cohol. The day the focus shifted from Empty Shop to the festival hub at Fowlers Yard, away from the clutches of Carlo to his (if not silent then less noisy) partner Nick and Festival Mistress-mind Heather Spencer, who had the initial vision of a multi-venue festival of Jazz and other underground Black Music in the heart of Durham, aimed at the student population and yokels young and old alike.  
But first a detour to the fabulous Miners Hall, hidden away in Durham, yards away from where I grew up and yards away, in the opposite direction, from a former home of a certain Lord and Lady; so good stock.
I'm not a big Big Band man but anybody who’s seen the Durham Uni Big Band knows they're one of the hottest around with a cabinet full of awards. I knew I would have to cut it short and Eleanor Rigby (mercifully not something from Dr Pepper or something or other fizzy, soft and sickly) seemed an appropriate time to head to the hub. 
Essex girl via Durham Uni DJ WZK was doing some amazing, seamless mixing. I remember when DJs were making tentative steps towards this and it's moved on enormously. 
Next a pop-up Early Bird Band featuring FDT and Lawrence Brothers Dan and Ben. Older brother Dan got the call at lunchtime and winged his way from Manchester with a final exam on Monday, and it's acts of heroism like this that make small festivals so special and Heather and Carlo were suitably impressed and grateful. A drummer proved problematic but five minutes ahead, there was a choice of three, and a young man from Gateshead, a regular of the Globe, fit like a glove (I was notebook-less throughout the weekend so please feel free to furnish any names).
It was billed as a jam but only Early Jambone Bird James Metcalf stepped up to play trumpet on a few. The set was fairly straightforward stuff and these future stars can do this in their sleep, but it gave them a chance to show off their chops, Francis playing seated with a much cleaner sound than his general preference nowadays.
Budtet played a customary mix of instrumentals and the ladies splitting vocals, Fiona  fragile and sensitive and Jude assured with lots of oomph and showmanship. They know what they're doing and do it well.
Then me. Never a happy DJ - I do it cos I have to, not cos I want to - I played Jazz, funk, fusion, Latin and soul from the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Return to Forever, Bataan, JBs, Sly and Family Stone, Platinum Hook, Kool and his Gang, Fatback Band, Gilberto Gil, Roy Ayers and Flowers, but didn't have time to go further into soul for my lot, or do some West Coast Get Down for the Early Birds, or any reggae or Afro-Beat, which I think have a place at a festival of this type.
Over to the Empty Shop for another jam session and this is about to get embarrassing, but he probably played more across the festival than anybody else.  Tonight he found himself paired with an amazing alto player from Surrey via Durham Uni who took it to the next level, Francis with nothing more than his Gibson and an amp finding sounds from the next planet, together making music which could be from the next century. Imagine what might have happened if Hendrix had played with Bird.
DJ Mattu played a brief set including Thundercat and some Hip Hop but taking DJing to a level of creativity and performance art towards a whole new field of music. 
I love festivals where you have to make choices - like Lance missing Alphonse Mouzon to watch Dizzy - and I missed Group Theory and Redemption Jazz at Empty Shop, and Lindsay Hannon and Bradley Johnson at the Barber of Neville, but Sunday would present the trickiest choice of the festival. 
Steve T.

2 comments :

Russell said...

Another nice review Steve. I'm guessing the drummer from the Globe was Matthew Fairhurst, and the amazing alto player was Zach Fox (he is very good, 1st alto with DUBB).

Steve T said...

Just been going through my stuff and was reminded I played a Pharaoh Sanders track. I wanted to draw attention to this because some people think you can't play Real Jazz as a DJ.
First time I heard Miles from the album Milestones was at a nightclub in Stockton. I've heard Mr PC, Art Blakey and there'll be others someone with a better memory than me could summon.

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