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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

Sat 23: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Tanfield Railway, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. Free. A '1940s Weekend' event.
Sat 23: Jason Isaacs @ Stack, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free.
Sat 23: Andrew Porritt & Keith Barrett @ Cullercoats Watch House, Front St., Cullercoats NE30 4QB. 7:00pm.
Sat 23: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Country blues.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.

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.

Saturday, July 24, 2021

The New Golden Age.

There was a time, from the 1950s onwards, when it seemed as though the UK was overrun with top class sax players. Tubby Hayes, Ronnie Scott, Don Rendell, Tommy Whittle, Jimmy Skidmore, Keith Bird, Art Ellefson, Kathy Stobart, Barbara Thompson, Bogey Gaynair, Danny Moss, Don Weller, Bobby Wellins, Pete King, Joe Harriott, Johnny Dankworth, Harry Klein, Ronnie Ross and John Surman to mention but a few.

Then, one by one, most of them died and we began, once again, looking to America but, over there too, most of the masters were, figuratively speaking, six foot under.

However, the saxophone, like jazz itself, will never roll over and die. As in all great art forms, new virtuosos appear, often coming on stronger than ever, thus we now have a scene that historians may well look back and see as a new golden era.

I submit that, in Simon Spillett, Alan Barnes, Paul Booth, Dave O'Higgins, Alec Harper, Tony Kofi, Giacomo Smith, Leo Richardson, Alex Garnett, Alex Western-King, Mornington Lockett, Vasilis Xenopoulos, Alison Neale, Jo Fooks, Karen Sharp and countless more, we have players who can hold their own with the past and, maybe, even forge the future.

Not just in London, but throughout the regions where burgeoning talent is forever emerging such as in the north-east where Harry Keeble, Faye Thompson and Jordan Alfonso stand alongside those seasoned pros who, for personal reasons opted to stay home such as the great Lewis Watson, Mark Toomey, Sue Ferris
and Paul Gowland
. All have made their mark, andonce this pesky bug that's going around disappears this brave new world will be swinging again. Lance

ps: I know that everyone mentioned aren't all British but they are resident and, as such, relevant  to the local scene.

pps: Apologies if I've missed out any mega names.

ppps: Alex Garnett can be heard tonight at the 606 club live and online from 9:00pm.

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