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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

16382 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 262 of them this year alone and, so far, 59 this month (April 20).

From This Moment On ...

April

Wed 24: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 24: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 24: Sinatra: Raw @ Darlington Hippodrome. 7:30pm. Richard Shelton.
Wed 24: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 24: Death Trap @ Theatre Royal, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Rambert Dance Co. Two pieces inc. Goat (inspired by the music of Nina Simone) with on-stage musicians.

Thu 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 25: Jim Jams @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Jim Jams’ funk collective.
Thu 25: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 25: Death Trap @ Theatre Royal, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Rambert Dance Co. Two pieces inc. Goat (inspired by the music of Nina Simone) with on-stage musicians.
Thu 25: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Arc, Stockton. 8:00pm.
Thu 25: Kate O’Neill, Alan Law & Paul Grainger @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 25: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Garry Hadfield (keys).

Fri 26: Graham Hardy Quartet @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 26: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 26: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 26: East Coast Swing Band @ Morpeth Rugby Club. 7:30pm. £9.00. (£8.00 concs).
Fri 26: Paul Skerritt with the Danny Miller Big Band @ Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Fri 26: Abbie Finn’s Finntet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.

Sat 27: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 27: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: More Jam Festival Special @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: Swing Dance workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free (registration required). A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox: The '10' Tour @ Glasshouse International Centre for Music, Gateshead. 7:30pm. £41.30 t0 £76.50.
Sun 28: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ’10 Years a Co-op’ festival event.
Sun 28: Jerron Paxton @ The Cluny, Newcastle. Blues, jazz etc.

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 29: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30-8:30pm. Free. ‘Opus de Funk’ (a tribute to Horace Silver).

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 a Co-op’ festival event.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Durham Brass Festival: James Morrison Quartet @ Gala Theatre - January 16.

James Morrison (trumpet/trombone/flugel/piano); William Morrison (guitar); Harry Morrison (bass); Patrick Danao (drums).
(Review by Lance).
Another knockout Durham Brass Festival concert. This time by the amazingly gifted Australian multi-instrumentalist James Morrison.
Morrison, accompanied by sons William and Harry along with super drummer Danao blew trumpet à la Dizzy, trombone with the rapid technique of JJ and, on piano, just about outran Peterson.
A Beautiful Friendship began soft and gentle,  treating the ballad with the respect it deserves. A nice solo from his number 2 son William on guitar before James exploded reaching Dizzy heights and beyond. We also got a taster of Danao's drums.
In the Silence of the Night, a composition by William featured his pop on a most unusual instrument.
Difficult to make out from where I was sitting. It could be a rotary valved flugelhorn or some kind of bass trumpet. It had the mellifluous sound of a flugel but maybe it was a hybrid James himself had designed.
Autumn Leaves was a bit of a curate's egg for me. James was now on trombone and he played a longish opening cadenza blowing three notes at once which, as everyone knows, is impossible unless you have a forked-tongue or you're James Morrison. All clever stuff but I was more comfortable hearing him play straight - what a great tone! The trio had an interesting chorus or six where they went into a baroque mode.
The Battle Hymn of the Republic or John Brown's Body saw James move to the piano to demonstrate how any song can become a jazz song. This amazing man then ran the gamut of the Oscar Peterson Book of Licks with maybe a touch of Waller and Tatum thrown in for good measure.
To finish off the set we had Bourbon St. Parade and this time the inspiration was good old Satchmo with Danao bringing Baby Dodds into the 21st Century.
Out in the foyer, it seemed as though every other person was a trumpet player - no surprise there!
Back inside, blissfully ignorant of the darkening clouds outside, we enjoyed an in-depth description of Erroll Garner's technique on piano followed by a hands-on display of how the great man (Erroll) might play Deep Purple.
There is no Greater Love brought Danao's brushwork to the fore whilst, getting back to Garner, saw James and William on trombone and guitar respectively play a lush version of Misty.
A jazzed-up piano blast on Chopsticks (I think) then more three note exhibitionism on Things Ain't What They Used to be. The encore was a slow Blues in G that brought the show to a close.
I've no doubt missed some of the finer points out but, with so much happening on stage in a pitch-black auditorium making notes was difficult.
I have, unforgivably, made little mention of Harry Morrison. Not only is he a stellar lynchpin and soloist but also the foil for much of James' humour.
Like Gunhild Carling, here last Friday, James Morrison sees jazz, not only as art but also as entertainment and he too scores heavily in both departments.
The standing ovation at the end was, after such a show, almost a foregone conclusion.
What wasn't a foregone conclusion was the weather that awaited us as we made to leave.
It thundered, it lightninged, in a matter of minutes the streets of Durham were awash. A few had brollies but most did not. A poster advertised a forthcoming movie - Swimming With Men - was this the premiere? Eventually, I made it to the underground car park for a drive home that was, to say the least, frightening.
Would I do it all again?
To hear the James Morrison Quartet the answer is YES! Most definitely.
Lance.

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