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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

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Keith Nichols (1945-2021)

Pianist Keith Nichols died today (Jan. 21). A noted authority on ragtime and early piano styles, Nichols was born in Ilford, Essex in 1945. As a young child he played piano and accordion, becoming a national junior champion on the latter instrument. From running bands at school to becoming a world-renowned performer and scholar of 'classic' jazz, Nichols did it all with panache and a great sense of humour. 

To list Nichols' achievements would run to several pages, in summary: student years at the Guildhall, performing with and/or arranging for Digby Fairweather, Harry Gold, the Midnite Follies Orchestra, a first visit to America working with Dick Sudhalter (playing Carnegie Hall), and, one to dine out on, recording an album with Bing Crosby. 

Nichols featured on the soundtrack of Pupi Avaki's 1991 film Bix (alongside other jazz world luminaries including Kenny Davern, Vince Giordano and Bob Wilber) playing the part of Hoagy Carmichael at the piano. Nichol's extensive discography includes many albums recorded for the American Stomp Off label and Cumbrian based Lake Records. In July 2006 Nichols appeared at Sage Gateshead in an ambitious, Arts Council supported, tribute to Paul Whiteman. Keith Nichols' Jazz Artists performed alongside the Northern Sinfonia to a capacity audience. The concert was recorded and issued on Lake Records (cat. no. LACD 245).      

Keith Nichols enjoyed a long association with the north east of England, Tyneside in particular. In the late eighties Mike Durham extended an invitation to Nichols to play a pub gig at the Lonsdale in Newcastle with the West Jesmond Rhythm Kings. The following three decades would see Nichols return time and again to perform at the Whitley Bay International Jazz Festival (Nichols' Collegians, Nichols' Wolverines, Nichols and his Rhythm) and later to participate in, and for a number of years, direct, the International Classic Jazz Party on North Tyneside (one of many memorable highlights being a concert presentation by the transatlantic Nichols-Duffee Orchestra). In addition, Dave Kerr's New Century Ragtime Orchestra would frequently call upon Nichols to join them in sellout concerts throughout the region.         

In a National Jazz Archive interview (www.nationaljazzarchive.org) Nichols said: I got to be a champion accordion player before I gave it up - the devil's music got me in the end at the age of 14. Keith Nichols b. 13 Feb 1945, d. 21 Jan 2021.    
Russell

6 comments :

Brian Bennett said...

So many happy memories of being entertained by Keith. Whether it was the back room of a pub, a jazz festival or concert hall, he was simply brilliant. Supreme musicianship on piano AND trombone. His comical stories and songs were hysterical.
A sad day indeed for the jazz world. RIP Keith.

carstairs said...

What an honour when Mike Durham asked me to be part of the rhythm section of Spats and his Rhythm Boys, lead by the inimitable Keith. With Spats on bjo, grr, uke and vocals,, Pete Soulsby or ,later, Nick Ward on drums, plus Frank Sjostrom on bass Sax we couldn't go wrong following Keith's lead. Quiet, humourous, hard-working ( and quick to modify the chords or routine without putting anyone's nose out of joint ) he was a joy to work with. I shall miss him as a 'real Professor of Jazz' and I am certain many others feel the same?

Anonymous said...

[Tiny point, It's Pupi Avati. See, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002194/ & https://variety.com/2019/film/news/pupi-avati-il-signor-diavalo-wide-1203219468/]

Brian Chester said...

What a shock when Patti rang to pass on the sad news. Such a fine musician and nice man. I've played and recorded with Keith on many occasions and it was always a delight. He will be badly (and sadly) missed.

David Burr said...

To say this is very sad would be to understate the general sense of shock at the loss of such a talented, influential and good-humoured individual. I spoke to him on the phone early in the New Year and he was characteristically looking forward to presenting a new project as soon as circumstances permitted.
We shall remember him.

Phil Rutherford said...

Such shocking news, the worst. Not just the public loss of a great performer, entertainer, arranger, jazz authority, one of the foundations of the Whitley Bay International Jazz Festival/Jazz Party, but the personal loss of one of the most genuine and generous people in the business, friend, mentor and gentleman. So many happy memories of playing alongside Keith in the West Jesmond Rhythm Kings, the New Century Ragtime Orchestra and at the Jazz Party. How we will miss him. RIP Keith. My condolences to Eve and to all his family and friends.

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