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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 2024.

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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tuesday, August 04, 2020

Book review: Jonny Dale - The Jonny Dale Experience

Liverpool drummer Jonny Dale has written his first book - The Jonny Dale Experience. Jonathan Philip Edward (aka "JPED"), born in 1949 in London, might not be a household name among jazz drummers but, nonetheless, he is a worthy subject for an autobiography. 

Having known and played with him for two years in the NW of the UK, I can assure one and all that he is a first rate professional. His beat is solid, he has an admirable stylistic range  and demonstrates a flexibility when working with a variety of bands that is remarkable.


Jonny's "experience" started in Wimbledon, growing up in a well to do family led by a patriarchal father, Philip Dale, with whom Jonny stayed  very close to throughout his life. The same went for the rest of the family of two siblings and his mother, Susan, who tragically died when Jonny was in his thirties. 

The warmth shown toward his family and close friends throughout the book gives the reader a strong sense of the magnanimous and benevolent nature of the author. He takes everyone that he encounters at face value and is deffo a glass half full kinda fella.

JPED immigrated to South Africa in the early 1970s, settling in Margate where he played with a number of bands in residencies at hotel and resorts which were pretty much the norm then. Nowadays,  those gigs, along with live music have all but disappeared.

Jonny's second wife, Simonne, a talented singer and percussionist who he met in Margate, was born and raised in Zimbabwe . They soon became engaged and married and have since produced two sons, Simon and Tim, both of whom have become fine musicians in their own right. 

The family returned to the UK in 1997 spending a few years in Sussex before moving to Liverpool in 2001. This move was prompted by an opportunity dictated by a higher calling that would also bring about Dale's return to jazz drumming. He had always maintained  jobs like managing gyms, travelling sales, and finally an executive role in an organisation called The Sweet Partnership

This post consisted of collecting coins from charity machines  throughout the NW - not a million miles from busking on the street! Happily, none of these aforementioned jobs lasted long enough to permanently sever his love, need and commitment to pursue his percussive proclivities, and since  age 65, JPED has remained a full time drummer. Thank God for that!

Dale's writing style exudes a playful freedom from the conventional rules of highbrow, academic, prose. He does not let himself capitulate to traditional syntax and punctuational standards. More of a Roads, as opposed to a Rhodes Scholar approach. His lengthy sentences are worthy of sentencing themselves, one could say. Despite this, the reader is still able to grasp the gist of his endearing  ramblings.

Currently, Jonny and Simonne Dale (known affectionally as "Jamonne" as they are inseparable in both music and day to day life) are very active on the Liverpool jazz scene Their 5-piece Latinised combo, "Sequoia" plays frequently and maintains  a residency at The Sefton Park Cricket Club. A  somewhat rustic, yet likable venue in a gentile, leafy part of South Liverpool that offers jazz on a biweekly basis.

Long live JPED and his heartwarming  account of his "experience"  as well has his rich contributions to Jazz in Liverpool.
Frank Griffith.

Available as an eBook via Amazon.

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