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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 2023.

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...

Postage

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

December

Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church, Cleadon. 7:00pm. Concert in the church hall. BYOB.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Sid White. The best free show in town!

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 8:00pm. Free. Note later start time, concert performance (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. 12 noon - 4:00pm. £26.00 (inc 3-course meal in in St Mary's Lighthouse Suite). SOLD OUT!
Thu 07: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 07: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.Donations. Feat. Mark Sanders. CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00. Downstairs.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club: Just Friends @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. Guest band night w. Richie Emmerson, Ian Bosworth, Dave Archbold, Ron Smith, Mark Hawkins. 9:00pm.

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Giles Strong Quartet @ The Old Library, Auckland Castle. 1:00pm. £7.00.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Prudhoe Community Band @ Central Station, Newcastle. 10:00am - 12 noon. Charity fundraiser.
Sat 09: Durham Alumni Big Band @ Number One Bar, Skinnergate, Darlington. 1:00pm.
Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

Sun 10: Musicians Unlimited’s Xmas Party with Zoe Gilby Quartet @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. MU 1:00-3:00pm; Zoë Gilby Quartet 4:00-6:00pm. Tickets: £7.50.
Sun 10: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Funk Soul Sista @ Stack, Seaburn. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Sun 10: Beth Clarke @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 10: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Whittingham Memorial Institute, Alnwick. 7:30pm. £12.00., £10.00.
Sun 10: Tele-Port @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Line-up inc. Zhenya Strigalev.

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Monday, November 22, 2021

Grand Ole Opry @ The Globe: Bradley Creswick's Western Swingfonia - Nov. 21

Bradley Creswick, Kyra Humphreys (fiddles); Pat Rafferty (accordion, lap steel guitar, vocals); Brian Hume (guitar, vocals); Irene Hume (vocals, shakers); Dave Harris (guitar); Archie Brown (snare drum, guitar, vocals); Ian Thompson (bass).

Question: What do the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the Young Bucks, Prelude, Lindisfarne and Emma Fisk's Hot Club du Nord have in common?

Answer: They all have members, past and present, represented in tonight's band.*

This was a new departure for the Globe's Sunday night sessions. Buddy Rich may have been turning in his grave after the recurrence of his much publicised allergy but none of the living were complaining - certainly not those who'd been sardined into the room - it would have required a shoehorn to get any more in!

Western Swing - the name goes close to defining it - can be described as jazz meets country meets blues. It crosses the border to Mexico bringing in polkas played to a Latin beat and tonight we had all of that - in other words, Americana.

The fiddles were on fire particularly on the Mexican polka where presto was but the starting point. On Take me Back to Tulsa they hit double prestissimo which is even faster than a government u-turn. Kyra really went to town on Maiden's Prayer.

The Humes sang most of the vocals which were, in general and speaking in the vernacular, hurtin' songs. Irene impressed in her solos and in her choice of harmony to hubby Brian's vocals.

Rafferty played accordion, lap steel and sang, as well as providing vital info about the repertoire much of which was based around such legends of the genre as Bob Wills and Spade Cooley.

Archie Brown was unobtrusive on snare drum and brushes although he did grab a piece of the action with a vocal on The Honky Tonk Side of Town.

Dave Harris's solos were the jazziest but they slotted in perfectly proving that the two genres aren't that far apart.

A most enjoyable, albeit different, Sunday Night @ the Globe - Lance

Rose of San Antone; Break Up, Break Down; Corrina, Corrina; A Mexican Polka (?); Tennessee Border; Careless Love; The Honky Tonk Side of Town; Horsehair Boogie; Miss Molly; Carmen's Boogie; A Faded Love; Blues Stay Away From Me; Steel Guitar Boogie; Eat at Joe's; Callin' it a Day Tonight; Maiden's Prayer; Three Way Boogie; Take me Back to Tulsa; Route 66; Black Mountain Rag.  

*Creswick and Humphreys are, respectively, past and present leaders of the RNS. Rafferty and Brown, original members of the Young Bucks, are currently with the New Young Bucks.
Husband and Wife, Brian and Irene Hume, had chart success both here and in the US as part of harmony group Prelude.
Dave Harris is highly regarded on the gypsy jazz scene.
Ian Thompson was depping but his credentials as part of Lindisfarne are beyond question!

2 comments :

NeilC said...

What a great gig I came to the party later after tickets had sold out so had to console myself with a livestream pass but it didn't really detract from the sheer enjoyment . I have no idea how many people were in the audience nor can I understand why their enjoyment seemed rather muted. The band deserved more vocal support from the audience rather than what seemed polite applause .

Anonymous said...

I was disappointed. The sound balance on the live stream was poor - fiddles way too loud, lap steel too quiet, as was the electric guitar. They were all better on the Spade Cooley tunes as his numbers always had a slightly more polished sound compared with Bob Wills. It's was always clear that fiddlers were classical players though - too much technique (not to suggest that Wills or Cooley lacked technique). The vocals really needed someone who was much more of a crooner - have a listen to Tommy Duncan singing on San Antonio Rose or Take Me Back To Tulsa and you'll hear it. Rout 66 was their best number I thought - they certainly were better in the second half.

The most interesting thing about Spade Colley didn't get told - for some reason we was let out of prison to play a gig and at the end of it he drop dead back stage.

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