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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Musicians Unlimited @ South Durham Social Club, Hartlepool - September 19

At long last, the return of Musicians Unlimited! Same band, new venue. Same crowd plus many more new faces! What's that about folk being reluctant to venture out?! South Durham Social Club on leafy Westbourne Road is the new place. A proper social club - ie don't expect to see a handpull on the bar - offering a concert room stage, things were set fair. 

In the Mood for starters. Don't laugh, Miller handled by a top notch big band can be more than respectable. And this was more than alright! Cue applause, we'd waited so long to hear Teesside's number one big band. One wag wondered out loud: Do you think we'll get a few more bum notes than usual? Not a bit of it, the band sounded just fine, minus one of the reeds...Has anyone seen Sue? quipped MD Mick Donnelly. Tenor saxophonist and ace flautist Sue Ferris had driven to the wrong venue. Arriving at South Durham SC as Major Miller's number drew to a close could be seen as a good move! Ready in a trice, Sue took her tenor chair in time for Blues in the Night

Another wag said: This [South Durham Social Club] used to be a nursing home. Looking around the spacious concert room, quick as a flash a friend offered the observation: There's a few care home clients in here today! 

It was time for the band's vocalist to step up. Singing Cheek to Cheek, Jan Spencelayh nailed it in one. Terrific! It was as if Jan and the band had never been away. Jive at FiveSweet Georgia Brown, yes, Musicians Unlimited are back!

Interval. Raffle time. Your correspondent was a winner! Oh, no he wasn't! The person charged with reading out the ticket numbers got the three numbers in the wrong order...boo! Oh, well, some other time...

Second set. Things Ain't What They Used to Be featuring guitarist Ian Bosworth and Sue Ferris on tenor blowing the roof off. Wow! Bill Watson soloed on On the Sunny Side of the Street, Jan returned to sing The Very Thought of You (excellent) and then MD Donnelly decided to throw a difficult chart at the orchestra. Bassist Mick Shoulder swapped his upright for electric bass and off they went on Gordon Goodwin's Count Bubba. All sections were put through their paces and all notched up A star performances. To close out a first gig in eighteen months, Musicians Unlimited went out on Tito Puente's Oye Como Va. They're back, and they'll be back next Sunday, one o'clock, at South Durham Social Club.
Russell
         
Musicians Unlimited: Mick Donnelly MD; Kevin Eland, Bill Watson, Dave Harrison, Alan Catherall (trumpets); John Day, Dave Brocklesby, ?, Peter Morgan (trombones); Kim Skerritt, Josh Bentham,  Sue Ferris, Barbara Fagan, Jill Nelson (reeds); Ian Bosworth (guitar); Gary Hadfield (keyboards); Mick Shoulder (double bass, bass guitar); John Bradford (drums); Ernie Jackson (percussion); Jan Spencelayh (vocals)

Set list: In the MoodBlues in the NightCheek to CheekJive at FiveWhat a Difference a Day MakesSweet Georgia BrownToo Marvellous for WordsWitchcraftThings Ain't What They Used to BeOn the Sunny Side of the StreetThe Very Thought of YouCount BubbaOye Como Va. 

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