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Bebop Spoken There

Dee Dee Bridgewater: “ Our world is becoming a very ugly place with guns running rampant in this country... and New Orleans is called the murder capital of the world right now ". Jazzwise, May 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

16401(and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 281 of them this year alone and, so far, 78 this month (April 27).

From This Moment On ...

April

Tue 30: Celebrate with Newcastle Jazz Co-op. 5:30-7:00pm. Free.
Tue 30: Swing Manouche @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. A Coquetdale Jazz event.
Tue 30: Clark Tracey Quintet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ’10 Years á Co-op’ festival event.

May

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: The Eight Words - A Jazz Suite @ Newcastle Cathedral, St Nicholas Square, Newcastle NE1 1PF. Tel: 0191 232 1939. 7:30pm. £20.00. (£17.00. student/under 18). Tim Boniface Quartet & Malcolm Guite (poet). Jazz & poetry: The Eight Words (St John Passion).
Thu 02: Funky Drummer @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guest band: Mark Toomey (alto sax); Jeremy McMurray (keys) Alan Rudd (bass); Paul Smith (drums)

Fri 03: Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle. 1:00pm. 8:00pm.
Fri 03: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 03: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 03: Jake Leg Jug Band @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: Front Porch Blues Band @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Fri 03: TBC @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.
Fri 03: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm. £5.00.

Sat 04: Jeff Barnhart’s Mr Men @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 04: Jeff Barnhart @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. Barnstorming solo piano!
Sat 04: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free (donations).
Sat 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm.

Sun 05: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm. £7.50.
Sun 05: Sue Ferris Quintet plays Horace Silver @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm.
Sun 05: Guido Spannocchi @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 06: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Friday, December 15, 2017

RIP John Critchinson (December 24, 1934 - December 15, 2017.)

Just picked up on a tweet from Ian Shaw telling the sad news that pianist John Critchinson died today. I knew that 'Critch' had been ill for some time and benefit concerts were being arranged but I didn't know how serious it was. One of the best modern pianists around, I first heard him in concert at Caedmon Hall in Gateshead with Ronnie Scott in, maybe 1979/80. I was impressed. 
Some 30 years later he was with Simon Spillett at the Early Music Centre in York - the magic was still there - and the following year at a pub gig in Crouch End, again with Spillett, he slotted in alongside Martin Drew and Andy Cleyndert for another memorable evening. This was in 2010 and, regrettably, was the last opportunity I had to hear him live. 
However, all was not lost. A 2013 recording with Simon Spillet kept him on my radar and, as I type, I'm listening to that album (Square One). Yesterday I Heard the Rain is a masterclass in saxophone ballad playing and the piano solo maintains the mood to perfection.

Perfection! A good word to end on when paying tribute to John Critchinson who passed away today - 9 days short of his 83rd birthday.
Sadly missed.
Rest In Peace.
Lance.
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1 comment :

Tony Roberts (on F/b) said...

Hi Lance. Hope you are progressing well. Sorry to hear about John Critchinson. Actually, I knew him quite well because he was the regular keyboard player at a Sunday lunchtime venue I use to go to in Buckinghamshire. We often chatted in the interval. He was an excellent keyboard player and a very friendly guy. And I saw him with Simon Spillet at one gig there.

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