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Bebop Spoken There

Dee Dee Bridgewater: “ Our world is becoming a very ugly place with guns running rampant in this country... and New Orleans is called the murder capital of the world right now ". Jazzwise, May 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

16408 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 288 of them this year alone and, so far, 85 this month (April 30).

From This Moment On ...

May

Thu 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 09: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 09: Lewis Watson Quartet + Langdale Youth Jazz Ensemble @ Laurel’s Theatre, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm. £10.00.
Thu 09: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Dave Archbold (keys); Ron Smith (bass).

Fri 10: Michael Woods @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. Free. Country blues guitar & vocals. SOLD OUT!
Fri 10: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 10: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 10: Citrus @ The Head of Steam, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £11.25.
Fri 10: Zoë Gilby Quartet @ St Cuthbert’s, Crook. 7:30pm. £10.00.

Sat 11: Jeffrey Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 11: Alligator Gumbo @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm.
Sat 11: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Yarm Parish Church. 7:30pm.
Sat 11: Tom Remon & Laurence Harrison @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 12: GoGo Penguin @ Wylam Brewery, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). All standing gig.
Sun 12: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Downstairs. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 12: Satin Beige @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £7.50 + bf. Upstairs. R&B cello & vocals
Sun 12: Fergus McCreadie Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £19.80.
Sun 12: Schmid/Wheatley/Prévost + Signe Emmeluth @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE.

Mon 13: Emma Fisk & James Birkett @ Yamaha Music School, Blyth. 1:00pm. £8.00.

Tue 14: ???

Wed 15: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 15: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 15: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Friday, December 02, 2022

Swing Manouche @ BATH - Dec. 2

Mick Shoulder (guitar); Dave Smith (guitar); Martin Winning (clarinet); Paul Grainger (double bass)

Jazz at Bishop Auckland Town Hall chalked up another full house this afternoon and little wonder with Swing Manouche on stage. Mick Shoulder's outfit - Mick guitar, Dave Smith, rhythm guitar, Martin Winning, clarinet, Paul Grainger, string bass - is fast developing into a force to reckoned with in the rarified world of gypsy jazz. 

To a degree, the term 'gypsy jazz' indicates the kind of jazz the listener is likely to hear. It could suggest the Manouche, WWII Hot Club, Django Reinhardt with or without Hubert Rostaing, French musette etc. Here at BATH, Swing Manouche mixed it up with classic Django, a lyrical musette, an original composition or two and a barnstorming finale.

Bandleader Mick Shoulder is, perhaps, better known as a bass player of some renown, but make no mistake, toting a six-string acoustic, he's a match for many of the specialists out there. To his left, Dave Smith is just the kind of rhythm guitarist required on a gig like this. Relatively new to the world of live performance, Dave gets his head down, his band mates beneficiaries of his precision playing. 

Mystérieuse (musette), the standard If I Had You, classic Django with Douce Ambiance, Swing Manouche made a whole bunch of new fans. Bassist Paul Grainger, often heard working in other contexts (straight ahead, contemporary and more), appears to be revelling in the material. Propulsive yet unobtrusive bass playing alongside Dave Smith's spot on timing laid the foundation for Mick and clarinettist Martin Winning to do their thing. And do it they did!

It was in pre-pandemic days when Martin relocated to the region and what an asset he has become to the local scene. In possession of a cast iron technique, Martin adds that something extra, call it 'star quality' and the Laurel Cafe's audience got a taster of it on the set-closing Dark Eyes. Cue sustained applause. 

The date of the first Bishop Auckland Town Hall lunchtime concert in 2023 is to be announced. Russell

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