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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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

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, September 25, 2020

Abbie Finn Trio @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle - Sept. 24

Abbie Finn (drums); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Paul Grainger (double bass)


A couple of years ago drummer Abbie Finn (Leeds College of Music/Trinity Laban graduate) and saxophonist Harry Keeble (Leeds College of Music graduate) joined forces with Tyneside based bassist Paul Grainger to play classic Modern/contemporary jazz charts alongside some original material. Six months ago a debut album and tour dates were announced then lockdown put things on the back burner.


Fast forward to late September, a rainy, autumnal evening. That first album is imminent and dates are in the diary. The first of them, at Gosforth Civic Theatre, attracted a select, socially distanced audience. It's a sign of the times when the musicians, just like members of the audience, are obliged to navigate a Covid-secure, one-way system throughout the premises wearing a face covering. As the lights dimmed a face mask hung from Paul Grainger's music stand...


Finn's North Meets South (Abbie is from 'up north', Harry from 'down south', perhaps that explains it!) opened the trio's one-set performance. Some musicians arrange a set list with great care. This was Abbie Finn saying: This is what we do! Following up with two bona fide classics - Seven Steps to Heaven (Grainger nailing Ron Carter's memorable bass figure) and Night and Day (a favourite tune of Keeble's, said Finn) - compared favourably with composer Finn's effort.

Due to a ten o'clock lockdown curfew being imposed on the venue this was to be an extended one-set performance. A brace of tunes illustrated the trio's depth of talent as composers: Grainger's Waltz for Tony then Keeble's Norse mythology-inspired Ginnungagap (no, me neither!). Keeble has previously spoken of his admiration for Michael Brecker, to your reviewer's ear there is Sonny Rollins in his playing. 

Chick Corea's Windows (a favourite number, said Finn) changed it up and Bernie's Tune changed it up again (more Rollins-esque tenor saxophone from Keeble) with Grainger's concise solo a particular highlight. Finn said of the latter number that she arranged it for big band at Leeds College of Music and here we were, just a few short years later, hearing it in trio format. 

Finn's Walkabout had a modern jazz feel to the head and, as it was her tune, she took a solo! The thought occurred that if Finn had been around in the days of the Jazz Couriers she could have got the call. Time was pressing; one or two gentle plugs for the new album - Northern Perspective, coming soon, watch this space - then the closer, Sonny Rollins' Oleo. All things considered, in these challenging times the Abbie Finn Trio got the autumn concert season off to a flyer.

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