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Bebop Spoken There

Wendell Brunious: "Because the blues is not 1,4 and 5 or 1,4,5,2,1. You could wake up with a flat tyre or a headache this morning, that's the blues, man" - (DownBeat, Oct. 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

15878 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 885 of them this year alone and, so far, 83 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums). CANCELLED!

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Paul Skerritt @ Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse, Primrose Hill, Jarrow. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 483 3355.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Sound the Trumpets @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hot Club du Nord @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00. POSTPONED!
Thu 05: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Tommy Bentz Trio + Mark Croft Duo + George Shovlin & George Lamb @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Harbour View Speakeasy's USA blues double bill + Shovlin & Lamb!
Thu 05: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 06: Alcyona Mick @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: WORKSHOP: Philosophy of Arts & Entertainment @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 2:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Balo @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Paul Skerritt @ 3Sixty Champagne Lounge, Hadrian’s Tower, Newcastle. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 933 8591.
Fri 06: Lexer/Mayes/Noble + Semay Wu + Miman @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Vault, Hexham. 7:30pm. £20.00. Book in advance. Moreno with Alan Law, Paul Grainger & John Bradford.
Fri 06: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. 'Celebrating Oscar'.
Fri 06: Nu Brass Sounds: Big Brass Bash @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: TBC @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 07: WORKSHOP: Philosophy of Arts & Entertainment @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 10:15am. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Hot Club du Nord @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 07: Bugge & Niccols + Moore & Fairhall @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - All the Things You Are. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 07: Rie Nakajima @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Paul Skerritt @ 3Sixty Champagne Lounge, Hadrian’s Tower, Newcastle. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 933 8591.
Sat 07: Samuel Blaser Trio + Toxvaerd & Zeeberg + Muramatsu & Welch @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Zoë Gilby Quintet + Ubunye @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Line-up inc. Tony Kofi. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 08: Tommy Bentz Band @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. USA blues band.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Newcastle Jazz Festival @ Tyne Bank Brewery - August 17

(Review by Lance/Photos of musicians courtesy of Malcolm Sinclair - LINK).

A Newcastle Jazz Festival - what's not to like? I'm fortunate, or maybe unfortunate, to be old enough to remember the fantastic festivals organised by my dear friend Andy Hudson where Art Pepper, George Melly, Barney Kessel and many others graced the then University Theatre. Those were indeed halcyon days but, to compare today's festival with those that took place  back then - as has been done elsewhere - defeats the object entirely.

Although without the clout of previous big name sponsors it could, nevertheless,  be argued that on a pound for pound basis this matched any festival - either side of the river.


Like all great festivals there was something for everyone and the only folk leaving were those who nipped out to the pizza pop-ups outside - they came back - our mouths were watering until we too succumbed! 

But, what am I doing rambling on about pizza? My friend is allergic to cheese! "No problem madam, we can serve without cheese."

A pizza without cheese may sound like Romeo without Juliet or Bonnie without Clyde but, take it from me - from now on cheese is off the menu when it comes to having a pizza.

The music. I don't know if it was the acoustics, but this barn like structure didn't do any harm at all and Zoë Gilby in her duo set with Andy Champion sounded fantastic. Our girl is nominated in the Jazz Vocal Cat. of this year's APPJAG awards - nip down to the bookies and put a couple of quid on but don't double it with Toon winning the Premier League.

The Alan Law Trio followed. Perhaps the most underrated jazz piano man on Tyneside, Alan has the edge on so many of his contemporaries - dynamics! He can take a piece from ppp to fff and return it once his point has been made, Crescendo and Diminuendo are his middle names!

Contrast is what makes any festival and the Mark Williams Trio certainly upped the ante in that respect. This wasn't Walker - it was Woodstock Forty Years After! Alvin Lee, Black Sabbath, Williams, Walker (Rob) and Pope.


Did I say contrast? With Emma Fisk and James Birkett you got it! Anyone who thought the 1920s' swing of Emma and James might pall after the heavy metal thrash of the previous set soon dismissed those thoughts - A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - maybe the highlight of the afternoon - maybe - when you open a box of chocolates can you make such a decision? Suffice to say that Emma and James weren't the coffee creams but the ones you grab first - apologies to those who like coffee creams!

Could anyone follow this? Back in the old days it may have been Ronnie Scott or James Moody but, with those two sax aces being taken suddenly dead it was left to Alexander Bone to rise to the challenge and, as he was the inaugural winner of the BBC Jazz Musician of the Year award, I could think of none better. He didn't fail. With the audience in mind, he made no attempt to push the boundaries but played driving hard bop alto. A guy sitting at a nearby table wore a Blue Note tee shirt - he must have gone home a happy man! Dean Stockdale, Mick Shoulder and Matt MacKellar - what a back three! YouTube clip from James Nesbitt.

Special mention also to the heroes of the hour. Michael Lamb and Jamie Toms took to the stage with Strictly Smokin' Big Band and, even if they hadn't blown a note they would have received a standing ovation just for promoting this well-organised event. As it turned out, the whole band gave the audience a 'standing ovation' - the crowd had commandeered all the chairs so that with the exception of piano and drums the band stood. It didn't effect the playing or the vocals from Alice Grace. This was a fitting end to what had been a great day - roll on next year.

I've attached a couple of crowd shots taken in between sets just to give an idea of the occasion.
Lance.
PS: as I left after the penultimate set - having perhaps taken my bucket to the well once too often - the sad thought that crossed my mind was how much the late Margaret Barnes would have loved this memorable day...

Link to photos by Malcolm Sinclair.

Zoë Gilby (vocals); Andy Champion (double bass).

Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Rob Walker (drums).

Mark Williams (guitar); John Pope (bass guitar); Russ Morgan (drums).

Emma Fisk (violin); James Birkett (guitar).

Alexander Bone (alto sax); Dean Stockdale (piano); Mick Shoulder (double bass); Matt MacKellar (drums).

Michael Lamb (MD), Pete Tanton, Gordon Marshall, Dick Stacey (trumpets); John Flood Kieran Parnaby, Chris Kurgi-Smith, Mark Ferris (trombones); Steve Summers, Niall Armstrong, Jamie Toms,  Dave Kerridge, Laurie Rangecroft (reeds); Graham Don (piano); Pawel Jedrzejewski (guitar); Michael Whent (bass guitar); Guy Swinton (drums); Alice Grace (vocals).

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