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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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

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: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Monday, October 26, 2020

David Gray Flextet Live (and online) @ The Globe - Oct. 25

David "Showtime" Gray (trombone/vocal); Adam Sams (guitar/vocal); Alan Law (piano); Paul Grainger (bass); Michael Mather (drums).

He dances like Fred Astaire, plays trombone like Fred Wesley and sings like Fred the Plumber. "Showtime" is well named. As a mover he outshines the previous area champion James Harrison and displays a sartorial elegance that Ray Burns and even the late George Melly would have been envious of!

However, that is merely the packaging, the prime cut of sirloin is the blistering, battering ram a.k.a. the trombone. If our man had been on the Jericho gig, the trumpet section would have had the day off.

Over they years we've been able to witness David develop from a nervous debutante at the old jazz café jam sessions to last night when he made his debut as a bandleader and outstanding slideman. Few trombone players can hold an audience in captivity for 90 minutes with just a rhythm section but last night's sold-out audience, as well as the many "streamers", would have happily settled for another 90 minutes. Most football teams couldn't do that - not around here anyway!

He's got the chops alright even as the final whistle approached a sustained blast of triple tonguing told us that a penalty shoot-out would hold no fears for "Showtime".

Of course, this was no one man show. Aided and abetted by Adam Sams on guitar, Alan Law on piano, the hirsute Paul Grainger, wearing a shirt that on any other occasion would have been the pride of the catwalk, on bass and with the Formula One steamroller driven along by Michael Mather this wasn't just a band this was the band!

For those who didn't catch this phenomenon, I must point out that where the Flextet (a handy name in case a member gets quarantined) really scores is in their use of dynamics. They can be roaring like a heavy metal band (not that they are) one minute then dropping the volume level to that of a string quartet the next. These guys certainly know the difference between ppp and fff

A night to remember and one that maintains the standard set by the Jazz Co-op's Sunday night sessions. Next week the Michael Lamb Quintet will have it all to do but, you know what? I'm sure they will -  get booking now.

Lance (photos courtesy of Russell).

In Walked Horace (JJ); Doxy (Rollins); Silva Orcas (Gray); Beatrice (Rivers); On the Mooch (Gray); Autumn Leaves (Fred Wesley version); Cyclops (JJ); Ttutu (Marcus/Miles); At the River (Groove Armada) + Cape Verdean Blues (Silver).

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