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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 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

17586 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 860 of them this year alone and, so far, 5 this month (Dec. 2).

From This Moment On ...

December

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Cath Stephens’ improvisation workshop @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 4:30-6:00pm. Collaborative group focusing on vocal improvisations.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Second Wednesday in the month.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon. £27.00. (inc. three -course meal).
Thu 12: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-6:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (keys); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Donna Hewitt (tenor sax); Kevin Eland (trumpet); Ron Smith (bass).

Fri 13: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Customs House Big Band @ Stocksfield Community Association. 7:00pm. Featuring Ruth Lambert.
Fri 13: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 13: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. First night of two.
Fri 13: Ransom Van @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 13: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 9:00pm. £10.00.

Sat 14: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:15pm. Free but ticketed.
Sat 14: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Autumn Dr., Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14 Lapwing Jazz Trio @ Three Sheets to the Wind, Alnwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. Second night of two.
Sat 14: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 15: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 12 noon. £8.50. Xmas party feat. Musicians Unlimited + Customs House Big Band. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Mitch Laddie Band @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb blues power trio.
Sun 15: Leeway @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sun 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 12 noon. £9.95. ‘Festive Turkey Dinner’. Book now: 0191 266 8137.
Mon 16: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Tue 17: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Tue 17: BBC Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘A Swinging Xmas’.
Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 17: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 7:45-9:35pm. Free.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Monday, October 19, 2020

Q & A with Dave Weisser & Jude Murphy - Part 2 of 3.

BSH: Dave, you are probably best known these days for the Take it to the Bridge sessions which, prior to these strange times, ran for many years at a variety of venues before becoming established at The Globe.

Dave: Yes, it started off when we came back from working abroad.  Terry Ellis and Bazz Ascroft were also at loose ends at the time, and I got them together at the Beamish Mary pub in No Place, County Durham.  That ran as a very popular jam session for several years before a change of pub management meant we were looking for other venues.  A short stint at the Bridge led to a really long residency at Jesmond’s Bluebell, then we moved on to the Egypt Cottage, the Tyne Bar, and eventually, The Chillingham Arms in Heaton.  Only when the Chilli was refurbishing did we find our way to the Globe, where we’re very happy.

BSH: As the recent interview with Matt Mackellar proved you have been a great one for nurturing young talent. Not in an academic way but giving them the chance to play in the real world of the jam session or, as you prefer, the jazz workshop. Apart from Matt, would you like to name any others who found their feet at, so to speak, your feet?

Dave: Well, there’s another very talented young drummer Matt Fairhurst, and Mike Papapavlou on guitar, and there was the late and much-lamented Darren Grainger on sax.  More recently we’ve had a couple of young international players showing up, Salvatore di Novo on clarinet and Fabio Vernuccio on bass.  And that’s not to mention our fantastic long term regulars, who may not count as “young talent” as such, but hey!  Of course we also had lots of people passing through who were already well established jazz players and who are very much local names, like Alan Law, Paul Gowland, Pete Gilligan, the list is endless really.

BSH: Dave, do you remember the Take it to the Bridge session at the Tanners' Arms when Claude Werner turned up and sat-in? It was like: Wow! Who's this?!  And again at the Egypt Cottage when David Carnegie walked in. It must be a thrill when such great players, new to the scene, seek out your workshop session. 

Dave: Yes, it’s always a privilege and it emphasises how the session is open to all ability and experience levels.

BSH: For as long as I can remember, Barrie Ascroft was on keyboards or bass guitar. His passing must have been a tremendous blow to you both.

Dave: We miss him so much.  He wrote a tune with a title that summed him up perfectly, Mr Rascal! We go back a very long way, to the late 1970s, when I went to see a very highly rated band called Technique at a club in Gateshead.  Little did I know I’d be flat sharing with the keyboard player a few years later and that we’d work together on a cruise.

Jude: Dave and Barrie were like the odd couple!

Bazz was such a huge loss.  Yes, he could be irascible, but that was all part of the hugely talented package – he was equally brilliant on keyboards and bass, and of course his writing was superb.  I personally have so much to thank him for.  He taught me lots about reading chord charts, and tolerated my first faltering steps at walking bass with the comment “It wasn’t TOO painful”, he even used to record regular editions of Coronation Street for me any time we were away and he was home!

BSH: Jude, correct me if I’m wrong, but you seemed to be a relatively late comer to the workshops. I remember you turning up at The Chilli one night and blowing everyone off the stand with your flute playing. Where had you been hiding? Next thing we knew you were blowing alto, playing bass and singing better than most of the so-called jazz singers!

Jude: When we came back from working the hotels, it was to have our daughter.  For a long time, apart from the occasional paid restaurant gig, I was primarily Jess’s mam, while simultaneously studying for an MA and PhD in History and starting out on a career in academia and adult ed.  So the only jams I got to were maybe one a year, when I could sort out babysitting!  But I did get to the Sage’s first jazz workshops, where I met Stu and Fiona Finden, and now we’re all in Budtet together.

BSH: You’ve also been playing in a few different bands. Soznak is one that springs to mind tell us about them.

Jude: I feel so privileged to be part of the Newcastle institution that is Soznak.  Paul Miskin, the band leader, has done so much through the decades to keep street arts vibrant, and nothing really compares with playing a tune and watching everyone around the Monument starting to move along with the beat.  This works with disco classics, reggae, jazz standards, out and out rockers, we just all love playing together and I think it’s infectious.  Somehow it helps you forget the sometimes sub-zero temperatures. Favourite moments: when we had a huge protest group in Anonymous masks boogying on down to One Step Beyond; and when I shared a mic with Lulu (yes, THE Lulu) on Steve Miller’s The Joker. 

BSH: Dave, over the years you’ve switched from trumpet to cornet – any particular reason? Plus you seem to have an amazing ear for a tune and I’ve never known you to forget a lyric

Dave: I found the cornet was easier to blow.  I’ve also played flugelhorn and love the tone of it, but the cornet is my long term favourite.  Ironic, because it’s by far my cheapest instrument.  I picked it up for £32 from the Quayside Market. It didn’t even have a case.  It was Terry Lambert, from the Barracudas, who spotted it and negotiated a discount for me because he was a stallholder at the time.

I don’t know where my memory for lyrics comes from.  Years of listening, I suppose.

(Continued tomorrow)

Part 1

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