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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

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.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Alex Clarke Quartet @ The Railway, Stockport - Sept. 21

Alex Clarke (tenor sax); Paul Hartley (guitar); Pete Hartley (bass guitar); Phil Bennett (drums) 

On Tuesday evening if you wanted to hear some live Jazz, you had a choice of three events within a radius of ten miles in the Greater Manchester area. I decided to visit my usual jazz spot the Railway to check out the Alex Clarke Quartet.  I’ve seen Alex before, but only when she was sitting in at Wilmslow Jazz Club with musicians such as Gilad Altzmon, Alan Barnes and Greg Abate. I also recall an afternoon at one of Malcolm Frazer’s house parties when she sat in with Harry Allen.  She does not lack confidence!    

In 2019 Alex was a Rising Star in the British Jazz Awards and in 2020 she was a finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition. If you want to know more about Alex and where she is playing next you will find her web site well worth checking out www.alexclarke.co.uk\    She was ably assisted on this gig by the fluid guitar of Paul Hartley, his son Peter and one of the best drummers in the north west, Phil Bennett.

For this gig Alex decided to feature only the tenor sax, although she also plays alto sax, clarinet and flute, an instrument I  once tried to play but decided to stick to the sax. She reminded me a bit with her big sound on tenor of another musician, the late great James Moody.    

Most of the tunes played were standards with the exception of Moanin’ which of course was made famous by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Mike Farmer

Who Can I Turn To?; Mahna de Carnaval; It’s You Or No One. In A Sentimental Mood; Tangerine; Like Someone In Love; If I Were A Bell; You And The Night and The Music; Our Love is here To Stay; Polka Dots and Moonbeams; Moanin’; A Beautiful Friendship.

2 comments :

Craig Sutherland said...

Great revue Mike, it was a very enjoyable gig. I have a copy of her Mirage CD which is well worth a listen. - Alex Clarke (saxes & flute), Tom Kincaid (piano), Ed Harrison (drums) and Eryl Roberts (drums) . The correct link to her website is http://www.alexclarkejazz.co.uk/

Patti said...

Alex Clarke is a tremendously talented young musician - and blog readers who live in the region will be able to see her at Newcastle's Lit & Phil soon with Mick Shoulder, Dean Stockdale and John Bradford. Friday 22 October 1pm to 2 pm. Book direct from the Lit & Phil on 0191 232 0192. It's going to be a good 'un!

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