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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17372 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 656 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (Sept. 17).

From This Moment On ...

September

Sat 21: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 1:00-2:45pm. Free.
Sat 21: Vieux Carré Hot Four @ The Beehive, Hartley Lane, Earsdon Whitley Bay NE25 0SZ. 4:30pm-6:30pm.
Sat 21: Baghdaddies @ Two by Two, Albion Row, Byker, Newcastle NE6 1RQ. 6:00pm.
Sat 21: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Northumberland Club, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Sat 21: Jude Murphy & Alan Law @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 22: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:30-4:30pm. Free.
Sun 22: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Richard Herdman @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 22: Remy CB Band @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 8:30pm. Free. Remi, 2024 Newcastle Uni graduate, superb soul/blues voice!

Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Paul Booth with the Paul Edis Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £10.00. A Blaydon Jazz Club 40th anniversary concert! SOLD OUT!

Tue 24: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ Newcastle House Hotel, Rothbury. 7:30pm. £12.00. (£10.00. adv. from Tully’s of Rothbury). Coquetdale Jazz.
Tue 24: Sarah Gillespie @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £16.50. Duo performance with Chris Montague.

Wed 25: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 25: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 25: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 25: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Middlesbrough Theatre. 7:30pm.

Thu 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 26: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Contemporary Jazz & the Piano’.
Thu 26: The New 58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 26: Jo Harrop & Friends @ Hexham Abbey. 8:00pm. ‘An Evening with Jo Harrop & Friends’. A Hexham Abbey Festival of Music & Arts event. £20.00., £5.00. child/student.
Thu 26: Neil Yates & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 26: Loco House Band @ Bar Loco, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 26: Tees Hot Club @ Dorma’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Mark Toomey, Neil Brodie, Graham Thompson, Adrian Beadnell.

Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 27: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 2:15-4:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Nothing in Rambling @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £10.00. + bf. Upstairs. Acoustic blues duo + Michael Littlefield & Lyndon Anderson.
Fri 27: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Downstairs. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 27: Tim Bloomer Collective @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Fri 27: Jo Harrop @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. All-star line-up.
Fri 27: Faye MacCalman @ Jesmond Pool, Newcastle. 8:30pm. Tickets £6.00. from: www.seetickets.com. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & improvised Music event in association with Jesmond Pool. Note 16+ only.

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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