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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

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: King Bees @ 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: Boys of Brass @ Salt Market Social, Liddell St., North Shields. From 7:00pm. £9.00. + bf.
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.

Mon 09: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 09: Cherise Adams-Burnett @ The Grove, Byker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. .

Tue 10: Abbie Finn Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Sunday Jazz @ Middlesbrough Town Hall, evening session: Scottish National Jazz Orchestra - October 27

(Review by Lance)

Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fats Waller. Three iconic names whose music is still played in one form or another today and, I would suggest, rarely played better than by SNJO.

The first set began with the Ellington segment of the programme. Black and Tan Fantasy/Creole Love Call recreated the early days of Bubber and Tricky Sam plungered and growling via Tom MacNiven and Kevin Garrity.

Hall of the Mountain King from the Peer Gynt Suite swung along in typical Ellington fashion – Ellington’s brand of swing was totally different from anyone else’s.

Sunset and the Mocking Bird, like A Single Petal of a Rose which came later were both from Duke’s The Queen’s Suite. Dedicated to our current monarch it was a one copy recording done solely for Queen Elizabeth II and not released commercially until after Ellington’s death. Duke had forbidden this to happen but his son made it public anyway – family eh?

Daybreak Express was a flagwaver with the appropriately named high note man Alex Maynard hitting the notes beyond top c.

So much for Ellington, come in Fats.

MD Smith left Kellock in charge for four Waller tunes and Brian was in his element. Handful of Keys; Honeysuckle Rose; Zonky and The Joint is Jumpin’ – it was indeed jumpin’ although it was strange to hear this number without the ebullient vocal.

Time for food – “Would you like plain or salt ‘n’ vinegar sir?”

The second set was magic. This, with due respect to Duke and even Fats, was what we’d come for – the complete Atomic Mr. Basie. Forget Kind of Blue, this, to me is the album. As Tony Eales put it – “It always has pride of place in my ‘Jazz Alley’”.

No need to give you blow by blow, suffice to say the soloists did credit to their inspirations –Joe Newman, Thad Jones, Lockjaw, Frank Wess etc.

Tommy and Konrad on tenors, Martin and Paul on altos, MacNiven and Sean – is he really as young as he looks? – Kellock, naturally, Cosker did Sonny Payne without throwing his sticks in the air but names are immaterial everyone contributed.

The Count is dead – Long live The Count!
Lance

Kid From Red Bank; Duet; After Supper; Flight of the Foo Birds; Double O; Teddy the Toad; Whirly-bird; Midnite Blue; Splanky; Fantail; Lil’ Darlin’.

Tommy Smith (MD), Martin Kershaw, Paul Towndrow, Konrad Wiszniewski, Bill Fleming (reeds); Alex Maynard, Sean Gibbs, Tom MacNiven, Lorne Cowieson (trumpets); Chris Greive, Kevin Garrity, Liam Shortall, Michael Owers (trombones); Brian Kellock (piano); Calum Gourlay (bass); Kevin MacKenzie (guitar); Alyn Cosker (drums).

Photos.

1 comment :

Lindsay said...

Thank you Lance - I wish I had known you were in the hall to say hello - we really enjoyed ourselves and looking forward to the next project with Jazzmeia Horn - are you coming up for it?

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