Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Monday, August 24, 2020

Pete King (1940 - 2020)

Just heard via Facebook that Pete King has died. Sad, but not unexpected if it is true. Seeking out an obituary via more reliable sources on Google has so far proved fruitless. However, as the F/b announcement was by no less than Bruce Adams I'm inclined to fear the worst ...

It's true, Peter passed away on Sunday a couple of weeks after his 80th birthday. What a sad day for British jazz, no, delete the word British. Whenever his name came up and we decided we weren't talking about the former co-owner of Ronnie Scott's, the inevitable phrase was added - WORLD CLASS, and I use capital letters deliberately, it would be an insult to his memory to use small case. He could lock horns with the best.

I first heard him at one of the early Newcastle Festivals, probably the mid to late 1960s with the somewhat undistinguished Ed Faultless Trio. There were many more times and each time he seemed to be better than the time before which is how it should be. The last time, March 23, 2012 at Sage Gateshead he was still flying and I left feeling exhilarated.

Although my favourite memories are of him in a quartet setting I think my favourite album is with the Charlie Watts Big Band Live at Fulham Town Hall. Then there was ... this could go on forever ... but the Bebop Preservation Society was another. Everyone will have their favourite and the chances are they'll all be different!
Rest In Peace you're no longer World Class, you're Universe Class!
Lance

5 comments :

Steve Andrews (on F/b). said...

Great player - saw him once, somewhere, years ago. Sad news.

Dave said...

I always rated him highly as he combined talent and soul. Great soloist. He seemed to come to come to Darlington Arts Centre every year with the likes of Art Themen, the late Mr Wellins or ‘Laughing’ Stan Tracey. Always good to see him. A great loss.

Lance said...

Well said! But why the anonymity?

Mike Farmer said...

So sorry to hear Pete King has died. I once gave him a couple of gigs in the Manchester area years ago when he was not doing many jazz gigs at the time. He came up from London and amazed us all with his inventive playing. I saw him many times in later years and he was always incredible.-Mike Farmer

Anonymous said...

Well worth a read is his autobiography, Flying high, a jazz life and beyond. He is incredibly honest about his life and it’s great to read about jazz from the British point of view.

Blog Archive