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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17328 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 612 of them this year alone and, so far, 17 this month (Sept. 5).

From This Moment On ...

September

Tue 10: ???

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 12: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:30pm. £4.00. ‘A Great Day in Harlem’.
Thu 12: The Cuban Heels @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Pete Tanton & co.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. THC with guests Donna Hewitt, Bill Watson, Dave Archbold, Adrian Beadnell, Mark Hawkins.

Fri 13: Jeff Barnhart & Neville Dickie @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Two pianos, two pianists! SOLD OUT!
Fri 13: Noel Dennis Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Dilutey Juice @ Old Coal Yard, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £11.00. adv..
Fri 13: Ray Stubbs R & B All-stars @ The Forum, Darlington. 7:30pm. Classic blues.

Sat 14: Jeff Barnhart’s Silent Film Fest @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Sat 14: Customs House Big Band w. Ruth Lambert @ St Paul’s Centre, St Paul’s Gardens, Spennymoor DL16 7LR. 7:00pm (6:45pm doors). Tickets £10.00. from the venue or tel: 01388 813404. A ‘BYOB’ event.
Sat 14: Emma Wilson @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm. £12.00. Acoustic blues.
Sat 14: Rat Pack - Swingin’ at the Sands @ Billingham Forum. 7:30pm.

Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Jude Murphy, Steve Chambers & Sid White @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick-upon-Tweed. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Panharmonia @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Swing Manouche @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £9.00.
Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: John Hallam with the James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert!

Saturday, July 20, 2019

New Orleans Swamp Donkeys @ Cobalt Studios & Ernest, Newcastle - July 19


James Williams (trumpet, trombone, vocals); Bryce Eastwood (clarinet, soprano sax, vocals); JP Brion (trombone); Sam Fribush (piano, vocals); Gary Washington (string bass); Tim Rachbach (drums)
(Review by Russell)

One band, two gigs, two venues a stone's throw a part, the Swamp Donkeys were in town! The Ouseburn Delta had rarely seen anything like it. All the way from New Orleans via Leeds and London, James Williams strolled into Ernest, sat down, and began to play. 

Ernest on Boyd Street welcomed its regulars and an influx of expectant jazz fans there to listen (and dance) to the 'real deal' from New Orleans. This, the first of two performances, served as a promo for a gig later in the evening a few doors down at Cobalt Studios. No PA, no amplification, the Swamp Donkeys played it entirely acoustically, just as the music's pioneers did way back when. 

Washington and Lee Swing opened the show. Williams, trumpet and vocals, sat down as though a customer, flanked to his left by Bryce Eastwood, clarinet, to his right by trombonist JP Brion. Standing before them were their fans - yes, Newcastle welcomed its American visitors with open arms. Williams sings like Louis Armstrong but, make no mistake, this isn't mere pastiche, this is what he does! Imagine...one hundred years ago Armstrong would have played gigs like this, no PA, battling to be heard. And here he was - Williams, that is - gigging down in the Ouseburn Delta. To coin a phrase, you couldn't make it up! 

Blue Turning GreyMuskrat RambleRoyal Garden Blues - this way spine-tingling stuff. Veterans of the scene turned out, they weren't about to miss this one. As Williams held court one local bandleader remarked: Fabulous! Terrific!

The stripped-back rhythm section - Gary Washington, string bass, Tim Rachbach, snare drum, and pianist (sans piano) Sam Fribush brandishing a tambourine - laid down a Big Easy foundation upon which Williams did his thing. Yes, this was fabulous and terrific alright. Bring on Cobalt!

A couple of hours later Cobalt Studios' industrial space opened its doors ready for business. A former warehouse premises on Boyd Street, all manner of gigs have been staged beneath a somewhat incongruous glitterball. This evening a genuine Big Easy sextet took to the stage. Ernest's acoustic Swamp Donkeys morphed into an amplified outfit for what would be a highly charged performance.         

The Swamp Donkeys' horns sat on Cobalt's on-stage sofa, it was as if we were in a Storyville saloon bar. James Williams cut a relaxed figure, leaning back, blowing hot trumpet, then singing (RosettaI'm Confessin'), yeah, we were in N'Awlins, for sure. Williams stood tall, engaging the audience, he's a real showman is the Swamp Donkeys' main man. 

The Swamp Donkeys is a drinking band (Jack Daniel's and the like). Mid-set an overly-keen glass collector swept-up Williams' drink from the front of the stage. Williams, quick as a flash: Hey! Where ya goin' with my beer? In N'Awlins that could get you killed! Turning to his band mates...Ain't that right boys?! Our glass collector returned Mr Williams' drink, double quick.

Earlier, Ernest's acoustic set was as a young Louis Armstrong would have played it. Here at Cobalt the amplified Swamp Donkeys moved into Blues Brothers' revue-style territory with Newcastle's swing dancers readily switching to a boogie-on-down style. A storming Everybody Needs Somebody to Love to a chilled Wonderful World to Jesus on the Mainline, Williams and his ace band (Bryce Eastwood, clarinet/soprano sax, particularly impressive) gave the audience what it wanted, and more. St James' Infirmary (a request), it was almost time to go and When the Saints sealed the deal. It had been quite a night down in the Mississippi/Ouseburn Delta.    
Russell

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