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Bebop Spoken There

David Hadju: "It was kind of a lightning bolt [seeing a photo of a hi-fi store that's now occupied by a phone store]. Everyone had hi-fi systems, now everyone has a phone" - (DownBeat May 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Sun 28: Bradley Creswick's Western Swingfonia @ Whitley Bay Carnival. Free. Plaza Arena stage. 12 noon.
Sun 28: MSK @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 12:15pm. Free. Marquee stage. MSK - Steve Glendinning, Katy Trigger, Martin Douglas.
Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ The Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 1:30pm. Free. Marquee stage.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary's Church, Wooler NE71 6BZ. 3:00pm. £15.00 standard; £5.00 student/unwaged; free under 18. Afternoon Cocktail, a Wooler Summer Arts' concert promotion. Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 3:00pm. Free. Plaza Arena stage.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 28: King Bees @ The Delaval Arms, Old Hartley NE26 4RL. 5:00pm. Free. Chicago blues at its best!
Sun 28: Matt Anderson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Anderson (saxophones); Jamil Sheriff (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Dave Walsh (drums).

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 30: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 30: Big Chris Barber Band @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

House of the Black Gardenia @ Billy Bootleggers - Dec 9

(Review by Russell)
A third gig of the day for your correspondent. Arriving at Billy Bootleggers during the interval sometime around ten thirty, the joint was jumpin’. The basement juke joint on Nelson Street has rapidly established itself as the place to hang out, be seen, dance, drink beer (American, buddy) and hear the best dirt-kickin’ roadhouse blues, jazz and hokum east of the Mississippi.
The beer flowing (Shipyard Brewing Company, Portland, Maine), standing (and dancing) room only all night long, the House of the Black Gardenia were about to begin their second set. Frontwoman, the fabulous Bobbi Charleston, strapped on her washboard, the boys in the band ready to go, Blue Drag then Viper Mad. The band, all waistcoats and braces, stepped right out of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath to play some of the best stuff you’re ever likely to hear. Detached, dead-eye characters on the stand looked on as the revellers danced the night away. Bassist and sousaphonist Neil Hopper didn’t blink, similarly, guitarist Michael Littlefield (frontman with the King Bees) stared, vacantly, into the middle distance, looking not unlike an ‘other world’ Manouche.

 The HotBG horns wailed right side of stage. Piecing clarinet from a strictly smokin’ Keith Robinson attempted to make itself heard, Aussie trumpeter Richard Burns blew and blew, later confiding that he couldn’t hear a darn thing. Good, just as it should be! What a gig! To our left, somewhere on the floor, Ben Imrye rattled the 88s, drummer Kit Haigh wasn’t sighted all night, hidden as he was, way down in the engine room hole – Billy Bootleggers is one hell of a tight juke joint!

Make no mistake, Bobbi Charleston is the focal point. Star quality, great vocals and, if there is such a thing, a washboard virtuoso. Charleston exclaimed I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate as a dance floor full of budding Kates shimmied the night away. Baby Don’t Tear My Clothes pleaded Ms Charleston. A gentleman would never consider doing such a thing, would he? The HotBG is as good as it gets and Billy Bootleggers just can’t get enough of ’em. Weed Smoker’s Dream closed a brilliant performance. The next time House of the Black Gardenia hit your local dive bar be there, a good time is guaranteed.                        
Russell.

Bobbi Charleston (washboard & vocals), Richard Burns (trumpet), Keith Robinson (clarinet & tenor saxophone), Keiran Parnaby (trombone), Michael Littlefield (guitar & vocals), Ben Imrye (keyboards & vocals), Neil Hopper (double bass & sousaphone) & Kit Haigh (drums)  

1 comment :

Patti said...

Mr Be Bop Spoken Here reviewer has surpassed himself here - an ace review of an even 'acer' gig. This was a storming session - a fabulous atmosphere in the joint to start with, and a hotter than hades lowdown and dirty jazz band! The joint was jumping!

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