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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Friday, March 08, 2019

Bus Tour to Hell @ Bix Fest, Racine, Wisconsin - March 7

(Review by our man in Wisconsin)

A Tribute to Bix (Bix Fest) began with a day-long bus tour to some historic jazz sites in the state of Wisconsin. This thirtieth year Bix Fest event visited Milwaukee, Hartford and Racine. The trip - Bus Tour to Hell - was conducted by Bix Fest director Phil Pospychala. It was to be some day!

At ten in the morning, a coach full of jazz fans departed the festival base with the first stop at 13th and Manitoba in Milwaukee The jazz tourists disembarked, cameras at the ready to grab a shot of the now dilapidated Starlight Hall (see photo). It was here, it is thought, that Andy Jackson's Rhythm Kings once performed circa 1929. The fact that the building is in a poor state of repair somehow added to its appeal. 


The next stop on the self-styled 'Bus Tour to Hell' would include some live jazz! Out on to the freeway Phil's rambling commentary entertained his Bix Fest coach of merry men and women (by now the booze was flowing) who were looking forward to privileged access to the Schwartz Ballroom in Hartford. An octagonal design, the historic building once hosted concerts by some of the great names of the music - Louis Armstrong, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman. A live radio broadcast by Guy Lombardo drew a crowd of 6000. Standing in the hall was indeed a rare moment. 

The Bus Tour to Hell included among its number a five-piece band plus vocalist. The musicians were every bit as excited as the rest of the party to be at a truly historic venue. Andy Schumm (a fixture at the annual Mike Durham Classic Jazz Party on Tyneside, England), on this occasion playing tenor saxophone, took to the stage with his ad hoc bandmates to play a few numbers in this magical 'Echoes of Ellington/Goodman et al' arena. Dave Bock, soon to make his Tyneside, indeed British debut, played tuba with Chicago's West End Jazz Band with leader Frank Gualtieri impressing on trombone. Vocalist Roya Naldi, looking every bit the 20s flapper, joined the boys to sing a couple of numbers including Cherry and After You've Gone. A truly memorable occasion.

Back on the bus Phil's 'entertaining' commentary frequently went off at a tangent, it was all part of the fun. The next port of call took us back to Milwaukee to wander around the Oriental Theater which, during the 1920s, hosted many big names. Popcorn was purchased. The final stop of the day was to step inside the Memorial Hall in downtown Racine. Gone five in the afternoon, the venue's staff graciously hung back to welcome the jazz tourists. The purpose of the stop-off? The Paul Whiteman Orchestra once graced this imposing lakeshore - that's Lake Michigan - venue. Once again cameras clicked, the jazz tourists drinking it all in.
 
The Bus Tour to Hell made its way back to Bix Fest HQ via an unscheduled stop at one of Wisconsin's many craft brewery taprooms. The Racine Brewing Company opened its first pub in a disused shop little over twelve months ago and it became an instant success story. The proprietor, Andy Molina, was working behind the bar as the busload of jazz fans descended on the place. He couldn't believe his eyes or his luck! For the record, the Wisconsin Brewing Co's Yankee IPA (6%) was more than acceptable. Yes, this had been one crazy 'Bus Tour to (Jazz) Hell' and back!         

Russell.

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