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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 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

17586 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 860 of them this year alone and, so far, 5 this month (Dec. 2).

From This Moment On ...

December

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Cath Stephens’ improvisation workshop @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 4:30-6:00pm. Collaborative group focusing on vocal improvisations.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Second Wednesday in the month.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon. £27.00. (inc. three -course meal).
Thu 12: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-6:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (keys); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Donna Hewitt (tenor sax); Kevin Eland (trumpet); Ron Smith (bass).

Fri 13: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Customs House Big Band @ Stocksfield Community Association. 7:00pm. Featuring Ruth Lambert.
Fri 13: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 13: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. First night of two.
Fri 13: Ransom Van @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 13: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 9:00pm. £10.00.

Sat 14: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:15pm. Free but ticketed.
Sat 14: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Autumn Dr., Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14 Lapwing Jazz Trio @ Three Sheets to the Wind, Alnwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. Second night of two.
Sat 14: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 15: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 12 noon. £8.50. Xmas party feat. Musicians Unlimited + Customs House Big Band. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Mitch Laddie Band @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb blues power trio.
Sun 15: Leeway @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sun 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 12 noon. £9.95. ‘Festive Turkey Dinner’. Book now: 0191 266 8137.
Mon 16: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Tue 17: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Tue 17: BBC Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘A Swinging Xmas’.
Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 17: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 7:45-9:35pm. Free.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Wednesday, December 08, 2021

The no. 39 bus Black Swan jam session - Dec. 7

It was one of those nights. Storm Barra cried off, an audience turned out, a graduating student partied the night away, a couple of of the Knats guys made their jam session bow, two first year Guildhall hotshots dropped by, the usual phalanx of horn players were conspicuous by their absence, and the Main Man, Mr P Grainger couldn't believe his eyes when one bass player after another walked in. What's that about waiting half your life for the no. 39 bus then six come along in quick succession?! 

Where to begin? At the beginning...Jimmy Van Heusen's It Could Happen to You with Dean Stockdale at the Nord keyboard, Mr PC (briefly) playing double bass and, returning for a second jam session in succession, drummer Tim Johnston. Autumn in New York then a blues in G, staple jam session material, all dispatched with aplomb. 

From here on in, the evening was something akin to a blizzard as one sitter-in after another got up to show what they could do. Niffi Osiyemi arrived early and she was ready to go for it. Her brief moment in the Black Swan spotlight included a riotous take on Honeysuckle Rose. An acquaintance observed: Nobody falls asleep when Niffi's singing! Knats' bass and drums pairing - Stan Woodward and King David Ike-Elechi - were about to get their first taste of a top flight jam session. They brought along their 'all-guns-blazing' approach, whatever the number they went for the jugular. Suffice to  say, Wayne Shorter's Footprints received the treatment. They'll be back, that's for sure, and when we see them next perhaps they'll reign it in, playing the tune and playing with the other musicians on the stand. 

It was a milestone day for bassist, and sometime vocalist, Ifedi Osiyemi. Today, Ifedi graduated from Newcastle University. Dr Ifedi will see you shortly, he is presently on stage celebrating his considerable achievement. Still in lounge suit and tie, Ifedi chilled out on Bye Bye Blackbird and You Stepped Out of a Dream   

The participation of an experienced pair of hands is never a bad thing. Andy Lawrenson was the man for the job as two first year Guildhall students - Edgar Ho, piano, and Oscar Ho, double bass - joined the party. Drummer Bailey made a welcome return as violinist Lawrenson steered the young guns through Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise, singing a verse for good measure. Sweet Sue heard more of Lawrenson's effective vocals and Bailey grabbed a solo. Excellent playing by all, the Hos are ones to watch, that's for sure.

As Ifedi and his many student friends headed off into the night - one suspects it would be a long night! - David Gray took centre stage. 'Showtime' as he is affectionately known, has, of late, added vocals to his armoury. The boy can sing! Perhaps not yet a 'jazz' voice, but that'll surely come. All of Me sang Gray, his trombone playing second to none. Michael Mather sat behind the traps, always encouraging, ever the enthusiast. Working alongside pianist Murray Wankling, Mather and co offered excellent support to Jan Spencelayh. Yes, Jan had driven up from Teesside, it's always good to see her and this evening our Musicians Unlimited big band vocalist really nailed At Last. A highlight of the evening. 

And so to the finale. It's become something of a Black Swan tradition to have a parade of sax players jousting on an extended blowout. Not this evening. None, that's NONE, were in the house! And on an evening when no fewer than six bass players turned up like a succession of no. 39 buses, for once Paul Grainger more or less had the evening off, likewise Dean Stockdale and Tim Johnston. Funny business, eh? Right, ten minutes 'til closing time. Dean, King, Stan, John Pope and a few others set off on a raucous Caravan. Ten minutes later they'd blown their socks off. The next Black Swan jam session will be on Tuesday 21 December and the first one next year will be on Tuesday 11 January, seven thirty start. There'll be some festive season cobwebs to dust off. Let's see who arrives on the no. 39, it should be a good one.    
         
Edgar and Oscar have got themselves a Jazz Co-op gig on January 9 when they'll be appearing with saxophonist Sam Toulson. Russell    
     
Dean Stockdale (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Tim Johnston (drums) + (more or less in order of appearance) Niffi Osiyemi (vocals); Stan Woodward (bass); King David Ike-Elechi (drums); Ifedi Osiyemi (bass); Andy Lawrenson (violin, vocals); Edgar Ho (piano); Oscar Ho (double bass); Bailey ? (drums); Steve ? (bass); George ? (bass); John Pope (double bass); David Gray (trombone, vocals); Murray Wankling (piano); Michael Mather (drums); Alex ? (bass); Jan Spencelayh (vocals)    

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