Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio + Abbie Finn @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Friday, March 09, 2018

Minnie Fraser Quartet @ Gosforth Civic Theatre - March 8

Minnie Fraser (vocals); Lin Lee Wong (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass) & Rob Walker (drums)
(Review by Russell) 
Gosforth Jazz Club has been attracting sizeable audiences and another good turn out greeted the Minnie Fraser Quartet. Electing to perform on the floor of the hall enabled vocalist Fraser to make that all important connection with the listener although, because of the lighting, she wasn’t able to see into the auditorium. The focus of attention was Fraser and her band; pianist Lin Lee Wong, a scrubbed-up Paul Grainger playing double bass and drummer Rob Walker.

A medium tempo All of Me to open the set followed by an achingly slow tempo My Funny Valentine and a regulation take on Ain’t Misbehavin’ with the instrumentalists sharing the spotlight, this was a good beginning to the evening and it became abundantly clear that bandleader Fraser was playing to an on-side crowd. Pianist Lin Lee Wong’s ear for a melody stood Fraser in good stead; a look, a nod, the cue, a working partnership. Bandleader Fraser didn’t have to worry about the rhythm boys – Messrs Grainger and Walker knew this stuff inside out and Walker’s hand drumming on The Very Thought of You was up there with the best of them. God Bless the Child, Song for My Father, a set of standards, a listening audience, Fraser closed the first half of the show suggesting it would be a good idea to see bar sales ticking over during the interval.

Second set, more of the same – good! Misty, an injection of swing on Old Devil Moon with Lin Lee and PG helping themselves to solos followed by more fine piano playing from Lin Lee on Cheek to Cheek. The little heard Midnight Sun (comp. Hampton and Burke, lyrics Johnny Mercer), Lullaby of Birdland, Fraser excelling on Stardust, the band could have played on but conscious of the time the Minnie Fraser Quartet closed the evening with Darn That Dream and a Latin-tinged Georgia just in time to catch a hurtling A Train.

As the evening drew to a close Fraser’s son Simon took the mic to inform the audience that it was his mother’s birthday and it was Simon himself who lead a chorus of Happy Birthday. A nice touch to end an enjoyable evening at Gosforth Jazz Club.
Russell             

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Well done Minnie and the band! You're a star.

Peanut

Blog Archive