Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Alter Ego @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle - September 24

Keith Robinson (alto sax); Niall Armstrong (tenor sax, flute); Dave Hignett (trumpet, flugelhorn); Graham Don (keyboards); Tony Abell (bass); David Johnson (drums)
(Review by Russell)

On a rainy Tuesday evening Prohibition Bar opened its doors to host two events - a self-defense course and a gig. Decisions! Decisions! Your correspondent deftly skirted past Inspector Clouseau and Cato to take the stairs to the first floor performance venue to catch Alter Ego. 

It had been a while since BSH last heard Keith Robinson and co. In the interim a couple of new faces - Graham Don, piano and David Johnson, drums - had joined the core unit of Robinson, fellow reedsman Niall Armstrong, Tynedale's brassman Dave Hignett and bassist Tony Abell. 

The set list comprised familiar numbers and some new charts. Blues Marx for starters (Armstrong, tenor, Hignett, trumpet, Don, keys, taking the solos) followed by Red Blues (composed by erstwhile band pianist Andy Hawking) featuring Robinson's searing alto sax. A good, solid start. 

A tasty Bacon Sandwich smothered in Armstrong's flute relish took the form of a samba topped off by a driving drum solo by debut boy David Johnson. The region is a hotbed of young percussion talent, add the name of D Johnson to the roll call. Armstrong's Dog Leap Bounce is often in Alter Ego's set list and this Pink Lane engagement offered another opportunity to hear it - good stuff it was too, not least Dave Hignett's fleet-fingered solo.

Tony Abell's clever arrangement of Not Moanin' revealed its inspiration - no surprises for guessing the classic Blue Note number! JJ Johnson's In Walked Bud featured Armstrong's tenor sax supported by David Johnson's kicking bass drum accents. A fine first set drew to a close with a blistering take on Hank Mobley's Roll Call (Hignett, trumpet, Robinson, alto, Don, keyboards).

Opening the second set, bassist Tony Abell soloed on his own composition Deva, as did pianist Don, the Strictly Smokin' man arguably producing the solo of the night. Sometimes at a gig, announcements can be misheard...Quasimodo was actually Quasimodal (thanks to KR for the correction) with a fluent flugelhorn solo from TVBB MD Hignett. Similarly, one member of the audience heard Monster Mash when in fact it was Niall Armstrong's funky Mustard Mash!

Titles can be misheard, some titles are all but impossible to spell or pronounce - try Welshman Tony Abell's Llangranog Blues! No matter, it's a good tune. Band members' compositions invariably delight in amusing/confusing in equal measure, a couple of good examples being Word Association Football Blues and How Low the Sun, the latter adopting a similar chord progression to - have a guess...How High the Moon

Alter Ego is a fine band comprising seasoned performers and the new kid on the block, David Johnson. Catch them next month (Oct 24) at the Newcastle Jazz Co-op.    
Russell       

No comments :

Blog Archive