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Bebop Spoken There

Fergus McCreadie: "I think a lot of the best music is very political, and there are so many things going on in the world that I'm constantly angry at. But for me making music is not the space for that" (Jazzwise July 2022)

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:"Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Postage

14336 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 14 years ago. 555 of them this year alone and, so far, 55 this month (June 19).

From This Moment On ...

June

Sun 26 Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon.
Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Outdoor (indoor if inclement weather).
Sun 26: Mississippi Dreamboats @ Springwell Village Community Venue, Gateshead. 2:30pm. A ‘1940s’ Weekend’ event (from 1:00pm).
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Foundry Jazz Ensemble @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Los Chichanos @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00 adv., £12.00. door.

Mon 27: Jazz in the Afternoon @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Sid White.

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Four @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, North Tyneside. 1:00pm.
Thu 30: 58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 30: Lights Out By Nine @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Maine Street Jazzmen @ Sunniside Social Club, Gateshead. 8:30pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

July

Fri 01: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 01: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 01: Swing Manouche @ The Vault, Hexham. 7:30pm (doors). £20.00.
Fri 01: 1920s Speakeasy w live jazz @ The Exchange, North Shields. 8:00pm. A Blues, Jazz & Swing Festival event.
Fri 01: Struggle Buggy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Blind Pig Blues Club. 8:00pm.

Sat 02: Hot Fingers @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. £10.00.
Sat 02: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor Steve Glendinning: Latin jazz. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 02: Talk: Storytelling & jazz as an expression of urban life @ The Exchange, North Shields. 1:45pm. A Blues, Jazz & Swing Festival event.
Sat 02: The Commandments + On Parole @ The Exchange, North Shields. 2:30pm. A Blues, Jazz & Swing Festival event. Rhythm & blues.
Sat 02: Geordie Jazz Man @ The Exchange, North Shields. 5:30pm. A Blues, Jazz & Swing Festival event. Screening of Abi Lewis’ documentary film about Keith Crombie & the Jazz Café.
Sat 02: The Delta Prophets Trio @ The Exchange, North Shields. 6:30pm. A Blues, Jazz & Swing Festival event. Rhythm & blues.
Sat 02: Swing Manouche @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm.
Sat 02: Swung Eight & King Bees @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:30pm. A Blues, Jazz & Swing Festival event. Swing dance + ace Chicago blues band.
Sat 02: Tyne Valley Big Band @ Greenside Community Centre, Ryton. 7:30pm.
Sat 02: Patrick Cromb @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Monday, May 16, 2022

Hexham Jazz Festival: Day 3 (Sunday 15)

(© Malcolm Sinclair)
Northern Rail let the side down. Cancellations (staff shortages) up and down the Tyne Valley line would mean arriving late for the final evening of this year's Hexham Jazz Festival. Plan B, call into the Centurion Bar for a pint and mull over what to do. Decision made - catch the next train...in an hour's time. On the pub's big screen tv Everton were losing, later going down to nine men. Could the Merseysiders go down? Sunderland find themselves in the third tier (for younger football fans that's the old Division 3), the same fate could await Everton. 

As the pundits discussed the match, the late departing 18:55 boneshaker to Hexham chugged its way up the Tyne Valley. Sometime later (quietly taking a pew at the far end of the nave), Bruno Heinen and James Kitchman were in the middle of their piano-guitar concert. Seemingly holding the attention of Hexham Abbey's jazz parishioners, our 'out of sight but sounding fine' duo were into an intricate exchange of ideas: a chase, contrapuntal lines, these guys have done this thing before! 

(© Malcolm Sinclair)
Applause, then a speaking voice, that of Bruno Heinen. Thanking the audience, pianist Heinen related the story of his time in New York. On one occasion he braved huge snowfall to attend a Village Vanguard concert performance by Cedar Walton. It was an intimate gig, Heinen being one of three fans braving the then Arctic conditions. Heinen and Kitchman went out on Snowed in with Cedar Walton.

(© Malcolm Sinclair)
The final concert of the 2022 Hexham Jazz Festival featured three familiar faces. The Abbey Finn Trio had the honour of bringing down the curtain on what has undoubtedly been a successful event. Abbie (drums), Harry Keeble (tenor sax) and bassist Paul Grainger waste no time, kicking off with the quirkily titled The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers. Keeble's tenor commanding in the vast space, Grainger rock solid, Finn keeping the lid on in what must be a challenging acoustic for drummers. Finn liked the title of A Real Job, saying people often ask her what her 'real job' is! This it it folks! As the trio stretched out on the ballad Mirador de los Poleos, it was time to go (the prospect of Northern Rail cancelling yet more services a distinct possibility), your correspondent making a sharp, but unobtrusive, exit. Russell     
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