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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Tuesday, September 20, 2022

Milano Happy Jazz Fest @ Spirit de Milan - Saturday Sept. 17

As the Original Prague Syncopated Orchestra took to the stage at Spirit de Milan on Thursday evening, musician Mauro Porro realised his dream of presenting the first Milano Happy Jazz Fest. Friday's programme featured musicians from France (Jazz à Bichon), Germany (Jungle Jazz Band), Holland (Roaring Jazz Cats) and, from the host nation, the Hot Gravel Eskimos. A daily masterclass, swing dance DJ sets, and, of course, Italian cuisine throughout the weekend made for a wonderful festive occasion. Your correspondent arrived in Milan late Friday evening, Saturday couldn't come soon enough...

Saturday, blue skies, 26°. Some twenty minutes' walk from the hotel, Spirit de Milan is a hidden gem. A local entrepreneur set about transforming the former crystal glass-making factory into a home for live performance. That was some six years ago, today, jazz concerts, swing dance events and much else have revitalised an important Milanese architectural landmark. A full day of concerts culminated in a performance by the Bratislava Hot Serenaders. A crowd in excess of one thousand people generated an amazing atmosphere: many seated, listening to the magnificent orchestra from Slovakia, many others dancing as if it were the 1920s. And in some ways it was, Juraj Bartos and ensemble looking the part, performing in a building which first opened in 1921.   

Scheduled to begin at half past ten, eventually the Bratislavas took to the stage sometime after 11:00pm. Musicianship of the highest order, applause rang out all evening, indeed into the early hours. Milanese certainly know how to party - two full sets of hot jazz, dancing, drinking, eating, applauding long and loud, it was close on 1:30am before the Bratislava Hot Serenaders, encore and curtain calls, were eventually allowed to depart the scene. 

Earlier in the day, Jazz à Bichon followed up their Friday evening concert with two more sets in an idyllic courtyard setting. Shona Taylor (cornet and vocals) marshalled the French outfit including veteran Jean Pierre Dubois (banjo, guitar) with the new boy, pianist Philippe Carment making a big impression, not least playing a James P Johnson solo piano piece. Opening with Hindustan, the band's two sets comprised lots of Bix, I'll See You in My Dreams to Puttin' on the Ritz. The sun shone, the basking audience loved it, what more could one ask for?

The Oliver River Gess Band lead the charge for the home side. From New Orleans the band would migrate, musically speaking, to Chicago and onto New York City, name-dropping as they went (Freddie Keppard, Kid Ory et al), Snake RagStruttin' with Some BarbecueThe Mooche and more. The 'more' included Cake Walkin' BabiesKing Porter Stomp and Drop Me Off in Harlem. An excellent session. Next up, Cab Calloway. Well, sort of

The Roaring Cats, from Holland, dressed for the part (tails etc), band and bandleader set about entertaining with a capital E. Who's Sorry Now?East St Louis Toodle-oo, the 'entertainment' was relentless. 
As dusk fell, a N'Awlins street band appeared in the courtyard. Fairy lights twinkling, the DBB Brass Band snaked its way through the diners, not unlike Tyneside's Northern Monkey Brass Band. The wine flowing, cheese and meats being devoured, this was a jazz festival as our European neighbours do it. Magnifico! Russell        

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