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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 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!"

Postage

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Wednesday, November 08, 2017

RIP Frank Holder (1925- 2017)

Circa 1954, Newcastle Odeon, Sunday night jazz concert. Back then, the City Fathers (or was it the Lord's Day Observance Society?) wouldn't allow films to be shown on a Sunday, for what reason I know not. Fortunately, in their wisdom, they decided that whilst films were out, bands were in. This meant that, for a number of years, the Odeon and the Essoldo featured regular Sunday night band concerts showcasing the top bands of the day.
One of these bands was the Johnny Dankworth 7, probably the best modern group in Europe at the time. Apart from players such as Eddie Blair, Eddie Taylor, Eddie Harvey, Don Rendell, Eric Dawson, Bill le Sage and the leader himself, there was also a couple of singers - Cleo Laine and Frank Holder. I can't remember much about Cleo other than that she wore a tight skirt but Frank Holder, I recall, was astounding - not just singing but playing bongoes.
As a callow youth just beginning to discover jazz, I was amazed that one man could do so much with two small drums. A moment in time that has stayed with me for over 60 years!
I heard him again with various Dankworth big bands then, somehow, he slipped off my radar until maybe in the late '90s I was in London and happened to be having a pint in the Spice of Life. I knew it was a jazz pub and I casually asked the barman who was playing downstairs. He shrugged and nodded towards a chalked notice - FRANK HOLDER.
"I'm having some of that," I said and paid my £6 or whatever it was. I wasn't disappointed, the old magic was still there so that, when I belatedly learned today that he'd died on October 29, a little part of me died too.
Frank Holder was 92 and very sadly missed.
Lance.
LondonJazzNews Tribute.
YouTube link from Liz.

5 comments :

Russell said...

Was the Spice of Life gig well supported?

Lance said...

Absolutely packed!

Tom Henderson (on F/b) said...

What a lovely man, worked with him at Greys Club, sad loss. RIP.

Liz said...


I remember him, and what a beautiful number this is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxW0azrg0F0

Lance said...

Yes Liz, great song, great singer. He was up there with the best.

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