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Bebop Spoken There

Delfeayo Marsalis: "Slide Hampton once told me that it's not always the person that is playing the highest or playing the fastest that's making the greatest impact." - (DownBeat March 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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Mon 20: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 20: Central Bar Quintet plays Wes Montgomery @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 7:30pm. Feat. Joe Steels.

Tue 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 21: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass guitar); Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Monday, January 23, 2023

Strictly Smokin' Big Band to hit the road.

Back in the day, American big bands such as Basie, Ellington, Kenton and Herman, along with British bands such as Dankworth, Heath, Parnell and Delaney would tour the length and breadth of the land.

Rock and roll, the pundits would tell you, did away with all that. Four teenagers and a row of Marshall stacks could provide ten times the volume at half the price, at least initially. Nowadays the volume and the price are on a par.

Nevertheless, despite the economic fluctuations of this fair(ish) isle big bands have never truly vanished.

In the north east, over the years, we have had award winning bands such as the Newcastle Big Band, the Ray Chester Big Band, the Customs House Big Band, Musicians Unlimited and the Strictly Smokin' Big Band.

All have kept the flag flying with, needless to say, several of the top men featuring in most of them.

However, to get back to my original theme, big bands do still venture further afield and while SSBB's upcoming chance to spread their wings isn't (we assume) going to be via the greasy spoon caffs and the sleazy b & b stop overs their predecessors had to endure to give us the music we love but is, instead, an experience both they and their audience will love.

As the graphic depicts, the music is based around the band's tribute to that legendary Art Kane photo A Great Day in Harlem. Well, here's to A Great Day in Halifax. Lance

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