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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 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

17602 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 876 of them this year alone and, so far, 21 this month (Dec. 11).

From This Moment On ...

December

Fri 13: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Customs House Big Band @ Stocksfield Community Association. 7:00pm. Featuring Ruth Lambert.
Fri 13: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 13: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm (doors 7:30pm). £19.00. + bf. First night of two.
Fri 13: Fiona's Jazz Express @ Flash House Brewing Co., Northumberland St., North Shields NE30 1DS. 8:00pm. Free. Featuring: Fiona Finden (tenor sax); Stu Finden (flugelhorn); Lara Hopper (trumpet); Keith Barrett (guitar); Andrew Porritt (double bass); Neil Hopper (drums).
Fri 13: Ransom Van @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 13: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 9:00pm. £10.00.

Sat 14: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:15pm. Free but ticketed.
Sat 14: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Autumn Dr., Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14 Lapwing Jazz Trio @ Three Sheets to the Wind, Alnwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm (doors 7:30pm). £19.00. + bf. Second night of two.
Sat 14: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 15: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 12 noon. £8.50. Xmas party feat. Musicians Unlimited + Customs House Big Band. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Mitch Laddie Band @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb blues power trio.
Sun 15: Leeway @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sun 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 12 noon. £9.95. ‘Festive Turkey Dinner’. Book now: 0191 266 8137.
Mon 16: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Tue 17: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Tue 17: BBC Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘A Swinging Xmas’.
Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 17: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 7:45-9:35pm. Free.

Wed 18: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 18: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 18: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 18: Hot Club of Heaton @ Elder Beer, Heaton, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘third Wednesday in the month’ session.

Thu 19: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon. £27.00. (inc. three -course meal).
Thu 19: Jazz Appreciation North East @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Christmas comes, but once a year: seasonal tracks & annual quiz’.
Thu 19: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 19: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Josh Bentham (sax); Dan Johnson (sax); Graham Thompson (keys); Adrian Beadnell (bass).

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Monday, April 16, 2018

Giles Strong Quartet @ Blaydon Jazz Club - April 15












Giles Strong, Roly Veitch (guitars); Ian Paterson (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums)
(Review by Russell) 
This evening’s concert at the Black Bull on Bridge Street exemplified what Blaydon Jazz Club is all about…a select list of tunes drawn from the Great American Songbook performed impeccably to a discerning audience. Giles Strong and fellow guitarist Roly Veitch put their heads together to come up with a set list and invited bassist Ian Paterson and drummer Russ Morgan to join them to play a  few numbers for the love of it, and, if anyone should drop by to listen, so much the better.

And drop by they did. Familiar faces took their regular seats and, without fanfare, Giles Strong and friends began with Out of Nowhere (comp Johnny Green), each musician introducing themselves in solo spots. A simple format, if it ain’t broke…Alone Together (comp Arthur Schwartz, lyrics Howard Dietz) continued the formula with first Giles then Roly introducing a tune and taking the time to talk about the composer (and lyricist) in much the same way as Frank Sinatra did so fastidiously during a long career dedicated to singing the very best songs of the popular composers of the day. 
There Will Never Be Another You (Harry Warren/Mack Gordon) featured a short solo from drummer Russ Morgan and, standing to his left, bassist Ian Patterson played it ‘just so’ all night; unobtrusive, fully engaged, enjoying the occasion. Benny Golson’s Whisper Not, heard for a second time in just three days by your reviewer, worked well without the horns. Did anyone hear the Jazztet in concert in Britain? Indeed, did the Benny Golson-Art Farmer sextet ever make it to these shores?

Russ Morgan is a master of the art of hand drumming and on Flamingo (Grouya/Anderson) gave a mini-masterclass, making it look easy into the bargain. A fine first set concluded with Irving Berlin’s How Deep is the Ocean?    

Blaydon Jazz Club’s CD stall did a little business, the raffle was well supported (your reviewer went home empty handed!) and there was time for a chat with some of the regulars (and not so regulars; four keen imbibers, one clutching a copy of the beer list from the recent Newcastle Beer and Cider Festival!). An unexpected development…Roly’s amp began to play up, or so he thought. Everyone carries a spare wheel in the boot, Blaydon Jazz Club’s long-serving promoter carries a spare amp!

Our two guitarists (Giles and Roly) exchanged ideas on You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To as Russ skittered brushes across his kit…he really is a master percussionist. A nice start to the second set. From Cole Porter to Brooks Bowman’s East of the Sun (and West of the Moon). More Cole Porter to follow, but wait, it was at about this juncture that Roly realised his ‘malfunctioning’ amp was not to blame, it was his guitar that was playing up! Few guitarists have a spare six-string in the boot of the car and Roly was no different. The show must go on and it did!

Jimmy Van Heusen’s Darn That Dream (lyrics Eddie DeLange) staked a claim as tune of the night,  Eden Ahbez’s strange (or should that be the strange Eden Ahbez?) Nature Boy featured Giles and Roly and again on Wes Montgomery’s West Coast Blues. A typically enjoyable evening at Blaydon Jazz Club concluded with the Giles Strong Quartet playing I’ll Remember April (composer Gene de Paul, lyricists Patricia Johnston and Don Raye). The irony wasn’t lost on some in the fact that Roly didn’t sing at all on the night yet, typical of the calibre of musicians on the stand, they ensured that the composers and lyricists were duly credited. It’s what Blaydon Jazz Club does.                               
Russell

1 comment :

Patti said...

This was a wonderful jazz gig at Roly's club ...... for me, it's always an exquisite experience to be sitting so close to these guitar maestros at work - every note so clear. The repertoire was superb, each number a classic of those magical Great American Songbook years - though I think Whisper Not was written in the mid 1950's. Incidentally, it was interesting to compare this take on the tune, with the one I heard a couple of days before - Lewis Watson, and the Mick Shoulder Quintet - fabulously played in a full, excitingly driven Jazz Messengers bop way. Tonight, the two guitars, plus drums and bass, took the tune right back to the melody - sublime!

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