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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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

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.
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).

Monday, August 09, 2021

Jazz on a Sunday @ the Globe: John Leigh Calder Quartet - August 8

John Leigh Calder (double bass, vocals); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Alan Law (piano); Abbie Finn (drums).

I think I'm safe in saying that this was one of of the most unusual jazz gigs that the Co-op/Globe has booked since they first floated the project seven years ago and it is power to their elbow that they try to cover both ends of the spectrum and that wonderful world that lies in between.

Birdland, in NYC, proudly claims to be The Jazz Center of the World and, apart from Gotham City's other jazz clubs, few would argue against it.

Tonight's guest wore a Birdland T-shirt prompting the thought that, the Globe, in Newcastle, could make a similar boast regarding the north east. I always think of Ira Gershwin's line in They All Laughed: They all laughed at Rockefeller Center now they're fighting to get in. Substitute Rockefeller Center for the Globe and the similarities are there. Certainly tonight's socially distanced event met that criteria, albeit without any fighting. 

I must confess that John Leigh Calder was a new name to me and, even now, a few hours later, the jury is still out.

His vocal range is amazing - maybe too amazing, the falsetto excursions really were overdone, irrespective of his technical mastery. In truth, close your eyes and the chances are you may have thought it was a woman singing. 

A couple of blues, 1970s pops, a few jazz standards and, with the exception of Yellow Submarine, perhaps two of The Beatles' silliest songs ever - Norwegian Wood and Fool on the Hill.

Calder's bass playing was of the minimalist variety which is no bad thing. He hit all the right notes and in the right order. Alongside him, and blowing up a storm, Law, Keeble and Finn were in there doing the biz despite little, if any, rehearsal.

An interesting vocal adventure. Lance.

Evenin'; Corcovado; Masquerade; Room With a View of the Blues; Norwegian Wood; Night and Day; A Night in Tunisia; Isn't it Funny? (a Calder original); Work Song; The Fool on the Hill; All Blues/Everyday I Have the Blues; A Rainy Night in Georgia; Caravan; Alfie.

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

2 encores at the end of the night you can’t do better than that.

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