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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Postage

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

December

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 04: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ People’s Kitchen, Bath Lane, Newcastle. From 5:30pm. On-street gig supporting the work of the People’s Kitchen charity. Wrap up warm! Donate!
Mon 04: Michael Young Trio w Lindsay Hannon @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Mon 04: Durham University Jazz Orchestra + Durham University Big Band @ Durham Castle DH1 3RW. 8:30pm. £6.00.; £5.00. concs; £4.00. DSM. ‘Jazzy Christmas’.

Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church, Cleadon. 7:00pm. Concert in the church hall. BYOB.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Sid White. The best free show in town!

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 8:00pm. Free. Note later start time, concert performance (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. 12 noon - 4:00pm. £26.00 (inc 3-course meal in in St Mary's Lighthouse Suite). SOLD OUT!
Thu 07: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 07: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.Donations. Feat. Mark Sanders. CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00. Downstairs.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club: Just Friends @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. Guest band night w. Richie Emmerson, Ian Bosworth, Dave Archbold, Ron Smith, Mark Hawkins. 9:00pm.

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Prudhoe Community Band @ Central Station, Newcastle. 10:00am - 12 noon. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 09: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 1:00pm.
Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoe Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

Wednesday, April 03, 2019

CD Review: Graeme Wilson Quartet - Abscondit

Graeme Wilson (tenor sax/flute/balafon); Paul Edis (piano/keys/flute); Andy Champion (bass/bass guitar/flute); Adam Sinclair (drums/perc)
(Review by Lance).

Back in the early sixties, jazz critics had a shock awakening when they first heard the Newcastle based hardbop quintet the Emcee Five. Back then, if a band wasn't doing the rounds of the London scene they were nowhere men. However, just as the Beatles from Liverpool and the Animals from Newcastle took the London pop world by storm, so did the Emcee Five strike a blow for the provinces in the less publicised world of jazz.

Since then, the standard of jazz has risen to such heights that on most nights in most major cities you can hear jazz of world-class quality. Which leads me to pose the question - are there four better players than these guys anywhere in the country or, maybe, outside of New York?


All eight tracks were composed by Graeme Wilson whose tenor playing you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night at a jam session - or maybe you would - just have a St. John's Ambulance crew standing by. Paul Edis - a legend - a man for the occasion. You wanna symphony composed for next week, a guy to play at your daughter's wedding or someone to play some of the greatest jazz piano this (or maybe the other) side of Keith Jarrett? look no further. When it comes to bass playing no one is more fortuitously named than Andy Champion. On drums, my worthy constituent Russell has Adam Sinclair down as his favourite drummer which is a better call than the one he made for Notts County to win promotion. Adam also engineered four of the tracks as well as handling the mastering and mixing. Now if he had been in charge of Notts County...

Several of the tracks were played and broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 at last Saturday's Free Thinking Festival held at Sage Gateshead. One of the numbers was After School that has Wilson, Edis and Champion forming a flute triumvirate. The compositions are complex, rhythms, time signatures, keys and moods change. It's all done seamlessly and only serves to enhance the music. The Bings is a masterclass in the art of ballad playing. The Bold Sammy features Sinclair beating out an infectious rhythm behind the tenor. Friction Motor, not surprisingly, is fast - apart from the unexpected silences. A blast by tenor, drums digging in and an amazing unison passage by horn and keys.

Jazz as we know it but also with a Scottish feel as befits the composer's heritage. Let's hope it gets picked by the BBC's dwindling jazz content or Jazz FM it deserves worldwide exposure.
Lance.

1 comment :

Roly said...

I think Graeme's Quartet is something quite unique and rather special. As you say Lance they are all great players and it's those compositions that underpin the group. It's music that makes you think, makes you smile, at times exciting, at times gentle and so charming. I would recommend anyone to go hear them if they are playing nearby.

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