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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

15260 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 279 of them this year alone and, so far, 92 this month (March 29).

From This Moment On ...

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington DL1 5PN. 6:00pm. New venue, live jazz!
Sat 01: Jambone @ Sage Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free (book online). A YMP! event in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 01: Jude Murphy & Dan Stanley @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Sun 02: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny. 12:45pm.
Sun 02: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.

Mon 03: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 04: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 04: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Bradley Johnston (guitar); Paul Grainger (double bass); Abbie Finn (drums).

Wed 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 05: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 05: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 05: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 06: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations. Feat. John Pope, Marie Shreer, John Garner.
Thu 06: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibtion Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 06: Darlington Big Band @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Note earlier start time.

Fri 07: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 07: Gaz Hughes Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 07: Mark Toomey Quartet @ Traveller's Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 07: Finntet + Zoë Gilby & Andy Champion @ Bobik's, Punch Bowl, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.
Fri 07: TBA @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Blind Pig Blues Club.

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Jam Session @ the Black Swan Jazz Café - March 10

 (Review by Lance)

There were a few absentees in tonight's audience. Some had flown to Chicago to review the Bix Festival in Wisconsin whilst others opted to stay at home for environmental health reasons. Fortunately, that didn't deter the musicians who as usual gave it 101%.

The evening's house trio set the pace with Tangerine, The Look of Love and Blue Bossa as the room was soon filled with bodies carrying instrument cases.

First up was Ferg setting a jam session precedent by tuning up - it may catch on. The youngest player (only in years) elected to play I Remember Clifford, the Benny Golson tune written as a tribute to that great trumpet player Clifford Brown - no pressure there then! Suffice to say that 'Brownie' didn't turn over in his grave!


Someday my Prince Will Come swung as jazz waltzes should do but often don't. Harry Keeble paired up with Ferg for Beatrice and Recorder Me and we moved into hard bop Blue Note territory. By this time Ferg was blowing with confidence and matched Harry on some scintillating four bar exchanges - both horn players spurred on by Abbie's drums.

David Gray and Ray Johnson were the next pairing with  Harrison the younger (Charles) on guitar. Showtime had warmed up during the afternoon playing with Classic Swing at a Monkseaton hostelry and his lip was well and truly in. Veteran Johnson's lip is never out so it was no surprise that they took  The Lady is a Tramp for a ride she won't forget. 500 Miles High followed, the Prince of Slides was in machine gun mode - maybe he too should be in Chicago.

Steve Summers dropped by for Like Someone in Love that also had some nice playing by Charles on guitar.

Time to take five - literally - and a chance to chat with an amiable chap sharing a table with me. Needless to say I gave him a BSH card drawing attention to the site's Parliamentary Jazz Award back in 2018. He mentioned that his wife was a member of The House of Lords. Richard Hardman, for that was the gentleman's name, informed me that he was a former journalist (The Times, no less and I was thinking ' no pressure' for Ferg!)
Nice guy.

The show recommenced, and I use the word  'show' intentionally, with a couple of numbers from the inimitable Niffi. Nobody quite shakes it like this girl. She's a mover! After You've Gone and Sweet Georgia Brown had the room rockin'. Michael Mather was on drums and George and Ed doodled around as Niffi went for the jugular.

It was now a question of follow that if you dare! Wisely, Jan didn't fight fire with fire, instead she offered contrast with a smoky tune I didn't recognise - Joni Mitchell perhaps? For All the Things You Are the second of the Harrison brothers joined the ensemble along with Steve and a few more horns and Jan did good as, indeed, she always does.

For once, there was a bass player in the house enabling Paul to rest his fingers. Nathan Mays, a new name to me, slotted in nicely his sound totally different to Paul's. A Jobim song that had Intuit in the title was followed by the late McCoy Tyner's Contemplation. The elder Harrison blasted what may well have been the solo of the night.

The evening was drawing to a close but not before Kerry whose A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square was sheer class. I believe she was/is a member of the vocal group Scarlet Street. Impressive!

As ever, it was all hands on deck for the final Caravan. Short solos ensured a fair crack of the whip (so to speak) was had by all and nobody missed the last bus.

Another good one which would have been impossible without Stu, Paul and Abbie.
Lance

Stu Collingwood (keys); Paul Grainger (bass); Abbie Finn (drums) + Ferg Kilsby, Ray Johnson (trumpet); Ed Bell (cornet); David 'Showtime' Gray (trombone); Harry Keeble, Steve Summers, George Sykes; (tenor sax); Charles & Laurence Harrison (guitar); Nathan Mays (bass); Michael Mather (drums); Niffi Osiyemi, Jan Spencelayh, Kerry Green (vocals).

2 comments :

Jan said...

Hi Lance.

The first song I sang was 'Spooky', which I know from the 1970 Dusty Springfield version. However, as we can see below, it was originally written as an instrumental piece for sax - which is, I guess, why a sax solo works so well in it. From Wikipedia:

"Spooky" was originally an instrumental song performed by saxophonist Mike Sharpe (Shapiro), written by Shapiro and Harry Middlebrooks Jr, which first charted in 1967 hitting #57 on the US pop charts. Its best-known version was created by James Cobb and producer Buddy Buie for the group Classics IV when they added lyrics about a "spooky little girl". The vocalist was Dennis Yost The song is noted for its eerie whistling sound effect depicting the spooky little girl. It has become a Halloween favourite. In 1968, the vocal version reached #3 in the U.S. (Billboard Hot 100) and #46 in the UK.


I must say, I thought Steve's solo in it last night was terrific.

Another great night - I'm always amazed by the talent that this jam attracts. Huge thanks to the in-house trio and, particularly to Paul, who sets this up every fortnight and never disappoints.

Jan

Unknown said...

Correction:

It wasn't Steve who performed the Sax solo in Spooky and it wasn't Harry - that leaves George

Apologies George - Your solo in Spooky was terrific!

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