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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thursday, October 04, 2018

Duende Jazz Bar in Thessaloniki

(Report by Neil Chalmers).
I have just returned from Thessaloniki in Greece and had the privilege to spend a couple of nights at the Duende Jazz Bar on Kalapothaki Street just up from the promenade. It is an excellent little club and the music was first class provided on the first night by the house band so to speak, the Duende Jazz Orchestra, a very tight 5 piece with an absolutely first-rate Piano player.
The whole place was really appreciative of the numbers the guys played and no more so than the man tending bar and the young lady who seemed to be hosting the evening.
Her English was far superior to the odd words of Greek I had acquired and we had a nice chat after the band had finished. She was asking my wife and myself what started our interest in jazz, which in essence came from hearing old recordings my parents played when I was at an early age.
My wife's father was a true music aficionado and developed my appreciation of all things jazz from the day I married his daughter. 

The lady was clearly a lover of jazz and we chatted for some time. I mentioned attending the Jazz Café in Newcastle's Pink Lane with a shout out for the eccentric and sorely missed Keith Crombie and how he had kept interest in jazz going for a number of years at "The Caff".
After the band had packed up, the club continued to play a mix of new songs and standards into the wee small hours.

The lady kept popping back to talk to us, I guess English fans are a rarity in the club, most people land at Thessaloniki airport and head for Khalkidhiki. She asked me the age-old fundamentally difficult question of if I had a choice of a song that could be played in the club what would it be?
I could have picked any number of artists and songs but opted for perhaps the strange choice of Louis Jordan.
Within 5 minutes, the PA was blaring out Let the Good Times Roll!

Unfortunately it didn't stop there as track after track from his greatest hits boomed out. Clearly, for the majority of people in there, this was not the acceptable face of jazz and sadly it was not long until my wife and I plus the staff were the only people in the place. To be fair the band had concluded their set and people were wending their way home for a few hours of sleep before work, well that's my interpretation.
The main purpose of writing was to ask you to perhaps give a shout out for this cracking little club and their house band in the perhaps slim chance that some of your followers might visit Thessaloniki and go along for a really great night out.
The club has a Facebook page and there are videos of the band on there as a little taster. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for reading my meandering thoughts and for perhaps offering a little publicity to this little gem of a club.
Neil Chalmers.

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