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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

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

Friday, December 13, 2019

DUBB's Jazzy Xmas @ Durham Students' Union - Dec 12

(Review by Russell)

The seventh edition of Durham University Big Band's annual Christmas bash followed a familiar pattern - 1) Durham Students' Union Riverside Bar and Cafe was packed to the rafters with demob happy students drinking a 'Big Band Cocktail' (£3.50.), 2) DUBB (that's the big band) resplendent in an assortment of Xmas jumpers, similarly delighted with the arrival of end of term, 3) a set list of swinging big band charts and seasonal favourites.

Speaking of seasonal favourites...Santa Claus is Comin' to Town opened the show with one of DUBB's vocalists - Rob Singleton - eager to exercise the tonsils. Ailing band MD, trumpeter Honor Hornsby (chest infection) confined herself to playing section lead and technical troubleshooter leaving MC duties to trombonist Tommy Wise. Bemsha Swing featured solo contributions from former Early Bird pianist Ben Lawrence (a real asset to DUBB 2019-20), alto saxophonist Alex Howard-Vyse and trumpeter Jesse Turnock. 

Drinks were being consumed - some spilled, it was that kind of occasion! - at a rate of knots as the band's other singer, Ms Evie Hill, sang Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow. Vocalists warmed up, Singleton led the partying crowd into a Winter Wonderland (arr Callum Au, the same arrangement favoured by the Strictly Smokin' Big Band) with smart section work by the five reeds. Hill returned to sing J Dilla's Fall in Love (more from Howard-Vyse, alto) before the band closed an enjoyable first set with something a little more conventional - Just Friends (solos from Lawrence, the impressive Chris Chung, trombone, and Matt Bartlett, tenor sax). 

Gordon Goodwin's arrangement of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen resumed matters. Chung (trombone) and James Petley (tenor sax) dug into Radiohead's 15 Step as did pianist Lawrence - good stuff! MD Honor Hornsby blew flugel on Always and Forever - a fine effort under the circumstances (our soloist not feeling 100% and performing to a room full of potentially distracting partying students). Robert Glasper's Ah Yeah arranged by 2019 graduate Zach Fox found favour with Durham's Bright Young Things then it was almost time to pack up and head to the bar but not before Singleton and Hill sang one more number - Frank Loesser's Baby, It's Cold Outside, yes, it was party time alright! 

One more, Bob Curnow's arrangement of the phenomenally successful Riverdance put drummer Michael Young in the spotlight and 'Mikey' duly produced an impressive display. Wait! You can't go to the bar yet! An encore was called for and won. Buddy Rich, Love for Sale from Big Swing Face, an excellent choice to end Michaelmas term and, as Tommy Wise informed us, DUBB wished a fond farewell to the band's excellent guitarist Tom Burgess who is moving on to pastures new. Alright, let's hit the bar!             
          
Honor Hornsby, Catherine Flanders, Dominic Purefoy, Jesse Turnock (trumpets); Alex Howard-Vyse (alto sax), Caroline Derrett (alto sax), Matt Bartlett (tenor sax), James Petley (tenor sax), Alex Wardill (baritone sax); Tommy Wise, Chris Chung, Peter Fewster, Dylan Morris (trombones); Tom Burgess (guitar); Ben Lawrence (piano); Isaac Merchant (bass guitar); Michael Young (drums); Rob Singleton (vocals), Evie Hill (vocals)  

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