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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.

Sunday, May 01, 2022

Darlington Jazz Festival: Durham Alumni Big Band + Durham Music Service Big Band @ Central Hall - April 29

It was three years ago (2019) when the Durham Alumni Big Band last featured at a Darlington Jazz Festival. The pandemic-enforced cancellation of the event two years running seemed to galvanise the 2022 audience, turning out in good number, determined to enjoy an evening of big band jazz. As the Alumni took to the stage, scanning the sections, it appeared almost all of the regular faces were occupying their usual chairs. The first half of the evening's concert would feature the band's intended pre-pandemic salute to VE Day 75. The second set would broaden the repertoire.

Flying Home. Imagine the Goodman-Hampton chart being played on VE Day. It captured the mood, the very essence of the occasion. It was as if the Alumni had never been away, the evening's first feature solo courtesy of tenor man Harry Keeble. A Matt Roberts' arrangement of Harry Warren's I Wish I Knew, Stan Kenton's arrangement of A Foggy Day in London Town, the boys and girls of the Durham Alumni Big Band were Back in the Swing     
             
Second set, more nostalgia and something slightly more up to date. Sammy Nestico's Feelin' Free (trumpets in unison), an Al Wood arrangement of Bernie's Tune (Mr Wood was in the audience), Big Dipper from the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis pad 1972 (perilously modern!) featured, first pianist Dean Stockdale, followed by Keeble blowing yet more assured tenor. Basie's version of Bye Bye Blackbird, Mark Armstrong (NYJO's supremo) supplied an arrangement of A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square (Terry O'Hern and Stevie McGarvie soloing). Swing Low, Sweet Chariot as played by the '49 USAAF Miller outfit heard the Alumni's trombones to great effect. And as the evening was drawing to a close Doc Severinsen's take on In the Mood found Keeble and McGarvie engaging in a friendly joust. Gershwin? I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'. Make no mistake, Durham Alumni Big Band is Back in the Swing.   

Durham Alumni Big Band: Shaune Eland (MD), Ian Robinson, Jonny Dunn, Billy Bradshaw, Andrew Meadowcroft (trumpets); Andrew Kirtley, Terry O'Hern, ?, ?, Alastair White (trombones); Harry Keeble (tenor sax); Eoghann Furness (tenor sax); Stevie McGarvie (alto sax, soprano sax); Kirsty Dunn (alto sax); Danielle Drew (baritone sax); Shaun Henderson (guitar); Dean Stockdale (piano); Amy Baker (bass); Stephen Fletcher (drums)

Earlier, Durham Music Service Big Band opened the programme with a short but fast paced set. MDs Amy Leggett and Billy Bradshaw put their young charges through their paces. Eoghann Furness (tenor sax) and alto saxophonist Heather Kim set the standard with fine solos on Neal Hefti's Sunday Morning. Stevie Wonder's Living for the City powered along and a set of some thirty five minutes went out on a high with When Sunny Gets Blue. Russell

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