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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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

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.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums). CANCELLED!

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Paul Skerritt @ Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse, Primrose Hill, Jarrow. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 483 3355.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Sound the Trumpets @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hot Club du Nord @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00. POSTPONED!
Thu 05: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Tommy Bentz Trio + Mark Croft Duo + George Shovlin & George Lamb @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Harbour View Speakeasy's USA blues double bill + Shovlin & Lamb!
Thu 05: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 06: Alcyona Mick @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: WORKSHOP: Philosophy of Arts & Entertainment @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 2:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Balo @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Paul Skerritt @ 3Sixty Champagne Lounge, Hadrian’s Tower, Newcastle. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 933 8591.
Fri 06: Lexer/Mayes/Noble + Semay Wu + Miman @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Vault, Hexham. 7:30pm. £20.00. Book in advance. Moreno with Alan Law, Paul Grainger & John Bradford.
Fri 06: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. 'Celebrating Oscar'.
Fri 06: Nu Brass Sounds: Big Brass Bash @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: TBC @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Monday, November 29, 2021

Georgia Cécile: Only the Lover Sings @ Queen's Hall, Edinburgh - Nov. 26

Storm Arwen wasn't going to put a stop to Georgia Cécile's Only the Lover Sings album launch, although last month an American superstar did bring about a postponement of the original date. October 16 should have been Georgia Cécile's big day but, when Gregory Porter came calling, it proved impossible to say: No. And so a profusely apologetic Georgia begged forgiveness from her many fans for rescheduling the concert saying it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open the show for Mr P, at the Royal Albert Hall, no less. 

And so to Friday (Nov. 26). Travel plans amended, hotel reservations changed, weather changed. Ah, yes, the weather...Mid-October, autumnal sunshine, late November, a scene approaching something like Armageddon. The walk up the road from Waverley Station to Queen's Hall proved challenging. Head down into a gale force wind, would anyone make it to the venue? Amazingly they did. A full house greeted our award-winning Glaswegian singer. Georgia Cécile and Euan Stevenson have forged an enduring songwriting partnership: the music embracing elements of the Great American Songbook, the lyrics as good as any contemporary lyricist you care to name. One sensed the evening was going to be something special. 

The Month of May opened the show, the brilliance of Cécile's vocals, Stevenson's piano playing (at the Queen's Hall's Steinway) and the equally brilliant contributions from the SNJO boys - Ryan Quigley, Konrad Wiszniewski, Michael Owers - and an ace rhythm section comprising Glasgow Conservatoire trained Irishman Conor Murray and Chicagoan Max Popp ensured the evening couldn't be anything other than a triumph. And if that wasn't enough, Seonaid Aitken lead a stellar string quintet. 

The sound balance couldn't have been better, all twelve musicians were heard with great clarity of sound. An early highlight, Come Summertime, could have been written by, take a guess - Ellington? Gershwin? Porter? No, try Georgia Cécile and Euan Stevenson! Consider it a modern jazz standard. During the evening soloists emerged from the various sections: the prodigiously talented Ryan Quigley blowing Walls of Jericho-like trumpet. Storm Arwen? Powder puff by comparison! Bassist Conor Murray, if unknown to some, announced his arrival, if he hasn't already, he'll soon acquire the tag 'first call'. Popp's immense intro to Blue is Just a Colour, Cécile's commanding vocal delivery on Harpoon, the tender but bittersweet Bittersweet. The strings, led by Aitken, were integral to the performance, cellist Sonia Cromarty sublime in a Love the Stars You're Under Cécile-Stevenson-Cromarty encore.

From time to time musicians receive a standing ovation, this evening Georgia Cécile received not one but two fully deserved standing ovations.  Russell
                                    
Georgia Cécile (vocals); Euan Stevenson (MD, piano); Ryan Quigley (trumpet); Konrad Wiszniewski (tenor sax); Michael Owers (trombone); Conor Murray (double bass); Max Popp (drums); String Quintet: Seonaid Aitken (Leader, violin); Kirsty Orton (violin); Patsy Reid (viola); ? (viola); Sonia Cromarty (cello)
 
Set list included: The Month of MayCome SummertimeAlways Be RightHe Knew How to LoveGoodbye LoveHarpoonBittersweetEver Burning FlameBlue is Just a ColourLove the Stars You're Under.

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