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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Thursday, October 21, 2021

The Simon Spillett Big Band plays the music of Tubby Hayes @ The 100 Club, London - Oct 20

An orderly queue formed outside the 100 Club. Some had travelled a distance, Scottish accents were detected, Geordie too. Descending a flight of stairs leading to the legendary basement venue, the gentle hubbub of conversation, accompanied by Snowboy's DJ set, heightened what was already an eagerly awaited occasion, the sense of anticipation was palpable. We were on Oxford Street to listen to the big band charts of one of the great figures in British modern jazz. 

A dream was about to come true for one of the great advocates of British modern jazz. Simon Spillett, himself regarded as one of today's great British jazz saxophonists, had set about assembling an amazing, all-star band to play the big band charts of the late, great Tubby Hayes. It had been more than half a century since Hayes' renowned big band graced the stage here at the 100 Club. This evening Spillett, biographer, saxophonist, bandleader and leading authority on Hayes, stood in the footsteps of his hero. 

At a little after eight o'clock, the Simon Spillett Big Band took to the stage, opening with Dear Johnny B.* Wow! Wow! Wow! Words cannot convey how brilliant, how thrilling this was! The super-charged band (lead with boundless enthusiasm by Spillett) almost blew the roof off the place (Sammy Mayne's searing alto sax solo, Mark Armstrong** blowing fearless trumpet)! If that had been it, if MD Spillett had said: Thank you, and good night, it would have been worth the trip from BSH HQ up on Tyneside. Absolutely brilliant!

From here on in, Spillett's stupendous band played a blinder with the standing-room-only audience loving every minute of it not least because of the leader's own solos which perfectly encapsulated the technique and the vitality of the original without any suggestion of plagiarism. In part, the set list served to illustrate Hayes' interest in the work of other composers, notably, Ian Hamer (Pedro's Walk, a feature for the rhythm section, Messrs Rob Barron, Alec Dankworth and Pete Cater), Milt Jackson (Bluesology, Simon Allen, tenor sax solo).and Jimmy Deuchar (Russian Roulette). Of course Hayes' own work featured: She Insulted Me in Marrakesh (the title tickling some in the audience) and As Close As You Are, but two of several choice numbers in the pad.     
 
Much of the material heard here on Oxford Street was drawn from Tubbs' Tours and 100% Proof. The albums featured all-star line-ups, so it was fitting that this 2021 in concert big band was similarly of the all-star variety. All sections boasted top rank soloists: the trumpets, Mark Armstrong, Freddie Gavita and George Hogg with Nathan Bray playing lead; Ian Bateman and late dep Andy Wood in the 'bones; the reeds truly A-listers, namely the tenors Alex Garnett and Simon Allen, the altos Sammy Mayne and Pete Long, and occupying the baritone chair, the ubiquitous, not to mention brilliant, Alan Barnes. 

MD Spillett suggested it was rather apt that Victor Feldman's Seven Steps to Heaven should feature in the set list considering the Feldman family established 100 Oxford Street as a key venue on the London jazz scene. Simon Spillett thanked each and every member of the band, the man appeared to be in 'seventh heaven', and who could blame him?! To close out a truly memorable evening, the man himself, Simon Spillett, went toe-to-toe with Alex Garnett on a stupendous take on Sonnymoon for Two. It, and the entire set, won the Simon Spillett Big Band a prolonged standing ovation.              
 
Drummer Johnny Butts worked with Tyneside's legendary modern jazz outfit the EmCee Five.

** Mark Armstrong was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. 

Simon Spillett Big Band: Simon Spillett (MD, tenor sax); Alex Garnett (tenor sax, clarinet, flute); Simon Allen (tenor sax, clarinet); Pete Long (alto sax); Sammy Mayne (alto sax); Alan Barnes (baritone sax, clarinet); Mark Armstrong; Nathan Bray; Freddie Gavita; George Hogg (trumpets); Ian Bateman; Andy Flaxman; Richard Henry; Andy Wood (trombones); Rob Barron (piano); Alec Dankworth (double bass); Pete Cater (drums) + DJ Snowboy. 

Set list included: Dear Johnny BAs Close As You ArePedro's WalkBluesologyShe Insulted Me in MarrakeshSong for a Sad LadyRussian RouletteSolveig; Seven Steps to Heaven; Sonnymoon for Two

3 comments :

Grant Duncan said...

Couldn’t agree more! One of the best Big Band Gigs I have ever been to!

Charlie said...

Thank you for this review. It was as much as anything a joyous occasion. Everybody, but everybody was smiling. The band, the audience, the bar staff. I swear when I emerged onto a drenched Oxford Street passers by were grinning. Thank you Simon.

Alan said...

Equally fabulous gig by this band at Herts Jazz Festival on Sunday 17 October. Thanks so much, Simon, for putting all this together - a fantastic evening!

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