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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Postage

16051 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1058 of them this year alone and, so far, 12 this month (Dec. 6).

From This Moment On ...

December

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle. 1:00pm. £7.00.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Prudhoe Community Band @ Central Station, Newcastle. 10:00am - 12 noon. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 09: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 1:00pm.
Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoë Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Alan Law, Paul Grainger & Abbie Finn @ Darlington Market, Market Square, Darlington. 1:00pm. Free. A ‘Christmas Market’ outdoor gig. Wrap up warm!
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Hot Fingers @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 14: After Hours Student Jazz Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. . Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 14: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Mo Scott ‘Little Mo’s Festive Appearance’ @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club w. Kevin Eland, Josh Bentham, Garry Hadfield, Adrian Beadnell @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Classic Swing @ The Ship, Monkseaton - January 23

Bob Wade (trumpet/flugel); Don Fairley (trombone); Paul Gowland (tenor); Colin Haikney (piano); Alan Rudd (bass); Tommy Graham (drums); Olive Rudd (vocals) + Gordon Solomon (trombone); Doris Fenn (banjo).
(Review by Lance/video by MaryB Jazz).
Front Street, in the Whitley Bay suburb of Monkseaton, may fall short of  52nd St. in its heyday but its three pubs have, over the years, all contributed to the lunchtime classic/vintage jazz scene. Two of them still do. On Fridays, Maureen Hall's Rendezvous Jazz are regulars at the Monkseaton Arms whilst, up the street at Ye Olde Ship (or 'The Ship' as most people call it), Bob Wade and Classic Swing play their brand of mainstream on Tuesdays. This was my first visit and it certainly won't be my last. Seats were at a premium and when they kicked off with It Don't Mean a Thing it was easy to understand why.
South African trumpet player Wade is rapidly carving a niche for himself on the local scene and justifiably so. His attacking style with its bravura runs and half-valve effects wouldn't be out of place at a 1930s club in Harlem. With Paul Gowland adjusting to the idiom on tenor and Don Fairley consolidating his position as top trombone, the band plays what it says on the tin - Classic Swing.
Adding Colin Haikney on piano - is there a more tasteful player? - Alan Rudd on bass and Tommy Graham on drums enables them to comfortably fill the gap 'twixt the New Orleans bands and the boppers.
A very palatable cake indeed - and that's before we add the icing!

I hadn't heard Olive Rudd since she sang with the Maine Street boys at Rosie's in South Shields a few years back. Well, let me tell you, folks, that, even with a cold, she's still got it! What's more, unlike at Rosie's, she's not restricted to a couple of numbers each set.
My only complaint is that she didn't sing I Wished on the Moon or How'd Ya Like to Love me?  Still, a minor quibble compared to what she did sing.
It Don't Mean a Thing: Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man of Mine (he was on bass); The Gipsy; I Got Rhythm; Make me a Pallet on the Floor; 'S Wonderful; When You're Smiling and Tuxedo Junction.

The big surprise of the afternoon was the arrival of trombonist Gordon Solomon. Gordon, former leader of the River City Jazzmen, the Phoenix Jazzmen and member of various other bands including the Newcastle Big Band confided that, owing to ill-health, he hadn't played for ten years but was hoping to sit in.
Sit in he did!
A spirited Rosetta* with Doris Fenn on banjo revealed that the old magic hadn't gone and his duet with Don Fairley on Sweet Georgia Brown absolutely brought the house down - J & K ride again!

Paul Gowland played Darn That Dream and dreamy it was. I've heard Paul play like Coltrane, Parker, Shorter but this afternoon he was closer to Hawkins, Webster maybe Chu (not Chuck!) Berry. Such is the man's versatility.

Let's not forget the rhythm section.
The trio had the spotlight for Surrey With the Fringe on Top. It was even tastier than my cheese and onion toastie and rivalled my pint of Jennings' Cumberland Ale.
A most enjoyable afternoon.
Lance.

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