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Bebop Spoken There

James Brandon Lewis: "Sometimes I'm not thinking about anything other than blowing the paint off the walls, and other times I'm narrating a story about my life." - (DownBeat June 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!"

Postage

15516 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 536 of them this year alone and, so far, 25 this month (June 7).

From This Moment On ...

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Jeffrey Hewer @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington. 6:00-8:00pm. Free.
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 11: Jam No. 19 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 14: NUJO Final Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcastle. 6:30pm. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra's final jam session of the academic year. All welcome.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 15: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 15: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 15: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 15: Alexander Ord Trio @ Tynedale Beer & Cider Festival, Tynedale Rugby Club, Corbridge. Evening, time TBC.
Thu 15: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. Time TBC.
Thu 15: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

The Levee Ramblers @ Springwell Village Community Venue - May 29

Mick Hill (trumpet, vocals); Liz Bacon (clarinet); Jim Blenkin (trombone, vocals); Dave Rae (banjo, guitar, vocals); John Robinson (double bass); Paul Bacon (drums)
(Review by Russell)

It had been a while. An enforced absence obliged the Levee Ramblers to take a vacation, then, as word spread on the jazz grapevine that the sextet was about to resume its Wednesday evening residency Springwell Village Community Venue opened its doors to welcome home Dave Rae and co.

It was as if the band had never been away with regulars claiming their favourite seats and catching up on the gossip before settling down for an evening of New Orleans jazz. Sam Morgan's Bogalusa Strut for starters - yes, it was business as usual! Band leader Dave Rae is one of the region's classiest banjo players and, by way of a bonus, sings a few numbers with an affecting, plaintive delivery which was perfectly illustrated as the Ramblers played Johnny Wiggs' Postman's Lament
Versatile veteran trumpeter Mick Hill took a brief vocal chorus on Swanee River leading on to some serious ensemble playing on Jelly Roll Morton's Pontchartrain Blues. A spiritual is an essential component of a Levee Ramblers' gig and it came to pass that Rae sang Walking with the King. Bunk Johnson is a staple and we heard One Sweet Letter (Rae vocals) and later in the set Tiger Rag á la the trumpeter's mid-forties recording with, as our banjoist band leader was quick to point out, the indispensable contribution of Lawrence Marrero!  

Hill's strong lead trumpet and Rae's spot-on vocals accompanied by his four string (tenor) guitar playing featured on Punch Miller's Long Distance Blues and, with the interval fast approaching, Rae stuck with his guitar as Hill sang Dinah

The interval: the real ale revolution has yet to penetrate the far reaches of the Borough of Gateshead thus a bottle of Brown Ale was the order of the day (evening). An apposite choice given that early in the second set Ken, friend of Springwell jazz, got to his feet to deliver one of his occasional monologues, the title...Geordie Broon from Backworth. Your reviewer's companion for the evening won a raffle prize. Hooray! A CD and a box of chocolates the prizes on offer, surely the former would be claimed. Nope, the latter - oh, well!

The Weary Blues welcomed back the anything but weary supporters of Springwell Jazz Club. A stomper, an uptempo take on Brown Skin Mama, Ellington's Saturday Night Function (Rae, guitar), yes, a choice selection here on Fell Road. The Bacons - Liz (clarinet) in the frontline alongside Jim Blenkin's robust trombone playing and trumpeter Hill's measured lead, and drummer Paul, as steady a hand as one could wish for, surveying the scene in front of him with trusty sidekick John Robinson (string bass) at his side - are dyed-in-the-wool students of all things New Orleans. It's 2019, what's the betting Dave Rae's Levee Ramblers will still be flying the Crescent City flag in Springwell in 2029? Short odds, that's for sure.
Russell      

1 comment :

Dave Rae said...

Cheers Russell, it's good to be back. Dave

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