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Bebop Spoken There

Lakecia Benjamin: "From my early days with Clark Terry, he told me 'they see you before they hear you'... I'm just not from that school of thought where I'm gonna wear my jeans and T-shirt on stage and that's going to be respectable." - (Jazzwise, February 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!"

Postage

15056 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 75 of them this year alone and, so far, 75 this month (Jan. 25).

From This Moment On ...

January

Sat 28: Tyneside Improvisers Workshop @ Ye Olde Cross, Ryton. 2:00-4:00pm. All welcome.
Sat 28: Secular Sounds in a Sacred Place @ Holy Cross Church, Ryton. 4:30-7:00pm. £10.00. Continuous performance featuring: Christian Alderson, Faye MacCalman, Sally Pilkington, John Pope. Event preceded by a Tyneside Improvisers Workshop (2:00pm, see above).
Sat 28: Entartete Musik @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Brundibár Arts Festival event. SOLD OUT!

Sun 29: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon.

Sat 28: Revolutionaires @ Brandling Villa, South Gosforth, Newcastle. 9:00pm. Rhythm & blues band.

Sun 29: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 29: Revolutionaires @ Greens, Low Row, Sunderland. 6:00pm. Rhythm & blues band with a horn section (inc. Pete Tanton).
Sun 29: Hypnotic Brass Band @ Cluny, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £20.00.
Sun 29: Jam No.12 @ Fabio's, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. Durham University Jazz Society jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Sun 29: Origin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 30: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 31: ???

February

Wed 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 01: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 01: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 01: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 01: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Darlington Hippodrome. 7:30pm.

Thu 02: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 02: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £1.00. All welcome.
Thu 02: Paul Skerritt Duo @ Tomahawk Steakhouse, High St., Yarm. 8:00pm.
Thu 02: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Alter Ego @ Blaydon Jazz Club - July 18

(© Roly Veitch)
Dave Hignett (trumpet, flugelhorn); Keith Robinson (alto sax); Niall Armstrong (tenor sax, flute); Joe Steels (guitar); Tony Abell (bass guitar); David Johnson (drums)

Hotter than Hades, Blaydon Riviera Jazz Club welcomed Alter Ego. A sextet mining the Jazz Messengers' tradition with a measure of samba and a slew of band compositions, Alter Ego arrived with debutant Joe Steels in the (metaphorical) band bus. The established frontline - Dave Hignett, Keith Robinson and Niall Armstrong - would knock out some fine, no nonsense solos, supported by bassist Tony Abel and Tyne Valley Youth Big Band alumnus, drummer David Johnson. Oh, yes, and the new recruit, guitarist Joe Steels. 

Keith Robinson's Zippit opened the programme. Fine playing all round, the Alter Ego guys knew exactly what they were doing. During the evening the thought occurred that it must have taken hours of rehearsal time to 'get down' the horn arrangements. Readers all, all hitting their cues, the select audience liked what it was hearing. Niall Armstrong's Bacon Sandwich (yes, please!) as a samba, Quasimodal (more modal than Quasimodo) with Hignett on flugelhorn, Dog Leap Bounce featuring a tremendous alto solo by Robinson, this was modern jazz at its best. 
(© Roly Veitch)

Things were heating up (musically speaking!) and Bobby Watson's Wheel Within a Wheel added more fuel to the fire (furnace). The one-time Jazz Messengers' composition asks a lot of musicians - the horns' intricate interplay, the rhythm section holding it down - and the Alter Ego guys were more than up to the task. Following a short break (beers on the terrace overlooking the Tyne), Keith Robinson and co returned to the stage to pick up where they left off. More great work by the horns on Armstrong's subtle, tricky Undertones, Tony Abell's Llangranog Blues, Armstrong's Mustard Mash (Abell soloing), Andy Hawking's How Low the Sun channeled Bird (drummer Johnson in the spotlight), all in all a marvellous evening at the Black Bull. Special mention of Joe Steels - a fine guitarist, one would never have known this was his debut gig with the band. 

Next month's Blaydon Jazz Club session (Monday 15 August) presents the Stu Collingwood Organ Trio - that's Collingwood at the organ with Harry Keeble blowing tenor sax alongside drummer Abbie Finn. It should be a good one, eight o'clock start. Russell               
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