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Bebop Spoken There

David Hadju: "It was kind of a lightning bolt [seeing a photo of a hi-fi store that's now occupied by a phone store]. Everyone had hi-fi systems, now everyone has a phone" - (DownBeat May 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

Sun 28: Bradley Creswick's Western Swingfonia @ Whitley Bay Carnival. Free. Plaza Arena stage. 12 noon.
Sun 28: MSK @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 12:15pm. Free. Marquee stage. MSK - Steve Glendinning, Katy Trigger, Martin Douglas.
Sun 28: Musicians Unlimited @ The Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 1:30pm. Free. Marquee stage.
Sun 28: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 28: Tim Kliphuis Trio @ St Mary's Church, Wooler NE71 6BZ. 3:00pm. £15.00 standard; £5.00 student/unwaged; free under 18. Afternoon Cocktail, a Wooler Summer Arts' concert promotion. Kliphuis (violin); Nigel Clark (guitar); Roy Percy (double bass).
Sun 28: Back Chat Brass @ Whitley Bay Carnival. 3:00pm. Free. Plaza Arena stage.
Sun 28: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 28: King Bees @ The Delaval Arms, Old Hartley NE26 4RL. 5:00pm. Free. Chicago blues at its best!
Sun 28: Matt Anderson Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Anderson (saxophones); Jamil Sheriff (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Dave Walsh (drums).

Mon 29: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 30: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 30: Big Chris Barber Band @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.

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.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Scarborough Jazz Festival 2019. Sunday Sept. 22. Evening Session. Partisans and Jim Mullen and the Volunteers.

Partisans: Julian Siegel (reeds), Phil Robson (guitar), Thaddeus Kelly (bass guitar), Gene Calderazzo (drums).
(Review/photos by Steve T).

Mr Birkett, his trio and guests on keyboard and clarinet had them dancing in the aisles so Partisans were already onstage by the time I returned to the main hall. I'd seen them before and enjoyed it but this was better; much better. 

The second piece was That's Not His Bag but we were assured it referred to Easyjet and not James Brown. Robson - having whet our appetite with Dankworth - was playing pedalled up guitar and crazy chords, weaving solos in and out of Siegel's sax and I'll be amazed if the guitarist isn't familiar with prog guitar maestro Steve Howe.

Overthink rocked things up nicely, bass guitar pumping and squelching like a heavy metal band, guitar set at eleven and even the arrival of sax somehow managed not to tone things down. It was clearly a bit much for some, covering their ears a bit of a giveaway, but Scarborough is a fiercely across the board festival and they're used to the esoteric. 

Right on cue, they demonstrated their quieter side with 3:15 on the Dot, named for a groundhog in New York called Barry and featuring bass clarinet, then guitar over cymbals and barely perceptible bass.

Drums set up a groove and guitar chords and a heavy bass sound found them firmly in Weather Report territory, guitar and some effects pedals playing it close to Zawinul's 70s/ 80s arsenal of keyboards.

Last Chance had Siegel back on bass clarinet, Robson bending notes, running through his pedals 'til he found the one marked jazz-rock, from the heady days of Lifetime and Mahavishnu Mk 1. In the best traditions of those times, it was then taken down to a trickle with gentle rhythm behind a remarkably fluid solo from bass clarinet, a notoriously tempestuous instrument.

Jim Mullen's Volunteers: Jim Mullen (guitar), Gareth Lockrane (flute, arranger), Steve Fishwick (trumpet, flugelhorn), Mark Nightingale (trombone), Alan Barnes, Julien Siegel (reeds), Gareth Williams (piano), Nick Hatton (bass), Tristram Mayo (drums).

Following a period of serious illness, Jim Mullen has found himself an elder statesman of British Jazz, a veritable national treasure.

I first saw him with jazz-funk outfit Morrissey-Mullen at the start of the eighties, next backing soul singer Terry Callier, then giving a masterclass followed by an organ trio performance at Sage Gateshead, and most recently with vintage British funk band Kokomo supporting the Average White Band at the London Jazz Festival. The local guitar teacher in Crook refers to him as Big Thumbs, reflecting his unique style of emulating his hero Wes Montgomery.

The all-star assembly more or less took turns taking solos, the guitarist taking one during each piece. Lockrane was visibly active keeping everything together from the stage and Mullen was keen to heap praise on him.

The entire set was taken from his current album The Volunteers, a mixture of Mullen originals: Medications, Spare Change, Overactive and Smart Money, plus a sprinkling of standards: When I Fall in Love, Spring is Here and Back in the Day.

Smart Money was the final piece and illustrated the tightrope jazz musicians operate from every night. Mullen finished his solo and turned to Williams and, when he didn't respond, turned quickly to Lockrane and back to the pianist who opened his solo. Great stuff.

Though I relish being amongst the youngest, I can't believe this festival doesn't attract a younger audience. There really is something on offer for everybody and the oldies for the most part, lap up the multitude of sounds the festival presents them with. Perhaps the seaside setting makes the cool young people think it's a bastion for the elderly. 

I was  also encouraged to see the CD store attracting so much interest, and I read somewhere that sales of CDs in jazz and the other genres are holding up well, despite the decline in pop music old and new.     
Steve T       

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