Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Steve Fishwick: “I can’t get behind the attitude that new is always somehow better than old” - Jazz Journal, April 15, 2019,

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...

Postage

16034 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1041 of them this year alone and, so far, 73 this month (Nov. 27).

From This Moment On ...

December

Sun 03: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:30pm. £7.50.
Sun 03: The Central Bar Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. The Central Bar Quartet plays Lou Donaldson’s Gravy Train. Featuring Jamie Toms.
Sun 03: Paul Skerritt @ Smith’s Arms, Carlton, Stockton-on-Tees. 7:00pm.
Sun 03: Johnny Hunter Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 03: Jam session @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.

Mon 04: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 04: Northern Monkey Brass Band @ People’s Kitchen, Bath Lane, Newcastle. From 5:30pm. On-street gig supporting the work of the People’s Kitchen charity. Wrap up warm! Donate!
Mon 04: Michael Young Trio w Lindsay Hannon @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm. Free.
Mon 04: James Birkett Trio @ The Black Bull, Blaydon. 8:00pm. £8.00.
Mon 04: Durham University Jazz Orchestra + Durham University Big Band @ Durham Castle DH1 3RW. 8:30pm. £6.00.; £5.00. concs; £4.00. DSM. ‘Jazzy Christmas’.

Tue 05: Customs House Big Band @ All Saints Church, Cleadon. 7:00pm. Concert in the church hall. BYOB.
Tue 05: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Sid White. The best free show in town!

Wed 06: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 06: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 8:00pm. Free. Note later start time, concert performance (open to the public).
Wed 06: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay, Newcastle. 12 noon - 4:00pm. £26.00 (inc 3-course meal in in St Mary's Lighthouse Suite). SOLD OUT!
Thu 07: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 07: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.Donations. Feat. Mark Sanders. CANCELLED!
Thu 07: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00. Downstairs.
Thu 07: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 08: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 08: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 08: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Woodland Village Hall, Bishop Auckland. 7:00pm. £12.00.
Fri 08: Sleep Suppressor + Redwell @ Head of Steam, Neville St., Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00. (£8.00. adv); £5.00. student.
Fri 08: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert's Church, Shadforth, Co. Durham.
Fri 08: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00., £8.00.

Sat 09: Castillo Nuevo Trio @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30pm. Free.
Sat 09: Abbie Finn Trio @ Claypath Deli, Durham. 7:00pm.
Sat 09: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Middleton & Todridge Village Hall, Morpeth. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sat 09: Paul Skerritt @ Slaley Hall, Hexham NE47 0BX. 7:30pm. From £42.00.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

The Black Swan Takeover - March 21

They had been massing on the horizon for some time. It was only a matter of time before they would launch a raid on the Black Swan. MC Paul Grainger decided to launch a pre-emptive strike, a case of getting in your retaliation first. An invitation to three of the student ringleaders to lead this evening's jam session was accepted and here we were, surrounded by a large number of 'bright young things' eager to show what they could do. 

The student house trio - Jacob Egglestone, guitar, Jamie Watkins, bass guitar, Bailey Rudd*, drums - opened with Stella By Starlight. The students would stand their ground for half an hour and more playing a selection of classic and contemporary numbers (In a Sentimental Mood, A Night in Tunisia), Jacob playing all the chords and more, Jamie knocking out pulsating bass lines, Bailey impressing, not least in his use of brushes.

It was time to introduce the first of the sitters-in. Katrina joined the boys to sing two or three numbers, closing with Irving Berlin's timeless How Deep is the Ocean? A good start, they kept on coming down the stairs, massing at the bar. Some of the old guard arrived in a vain attempt to redress the age/experience balance. Enter Messrs Finney K, Gray D and Rowland, J. That's keen-as-mustard drummer Kris, showman par excellence, David Gray (trombone and vocals) and one-time Jazz Café habitué, old school tenor man John Rowland. Gray leapt (literally) into action, giving Herbie Hancock's Chameleon a good going over. Tremendous! It was as if to say: Okay, students, what have you got?

Home from a few years living in Bristol, one-time Early Birder Alex Shipsey picked up his bass guitar (Satin DollFreddie Freeloader). This was a reminder, if one was needed, that Alex has great 'time'. Welcome home! Finger-picking guitarist Liam read the charts with ease, Martha sang a couple, cornetist Edgar Bell announced his arrival in inimitable style (the modal Freddie Freeloader right up the South Tynesider's street) and then there was Claire Hall. 



Alto saxophonist Claire, for all the world a student 'fresher', first sat-in two weeks ago. It transpires Claire is a Durham University academic. What's that about police officers - and academics - looking younger by the day?! In the absence of Lee Morgan, tenor man John  Rowland tore into Moanin', Claire Hall followed on, all the while, Alex Shipsey and drummer Dan Potter holding it down. Great stuff all round! 

MC Grainger couldn't wait any longer, joining the parade on What Is This Thing Called Love?, Hall and Gray the horns, Gray singing. Haaruun Miller was in the house, prowling. Soprano sax in hand, joined by drummer Josh, the Sleep Suppressor (see Thursday's gig listings) revisited My Favorite Things (Coltrane the reference point). It was getting late, stocks of Rivet Catcher long-since exhausted, time to introduce Fionnula Bradbury. Supported by Jacob, PG and Josh, and an onside audience, Fionnula sang On the Sunny Side of the Street. A non-music student, catch Fionnula before she departs, as she inevitably will, upon graduation. 

The home straight was fast approaching, Libby sang It Don't Mean a Thing (if it ain't got that thing), trumpeter Maddie briefly blowing (Jacob contributing a fine solo), and the evening's latecomer, Alon Dagon, achieved the distinction of being the sole pianist on show. If MC Grainger is up for it, how about a future house trio spot for Alon?

And that was about it, save for the late-arriving Esther Coombes. What busy lives students lead! It was worth the wait, Esther blowing some fine clarinet. The evening ended right on time, the packed house made its way home, the Black Swan's bar staff could take a well earned breather. The next jam session is slated for Tuesday 4th April. Arrive early to claim a prime seat, down beat at seven thirty.          
         
In his final year at Newcastle University, Bailey is busy with a research project focusing upon the 'socio-cultural ties of jazz musicians in the North East of England in relation to jam sessions'. It should make interesting reading.     
   
Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass guitar); Bailey Rudd (drums) + an ever-changing cast list including: Katrina (vocals); Kris Finney (drums); David Gray (trombone, vocals); John Rowland (tenor sax); Alex Shipsey (bass guitar); Liam (guitar); Martha (vocals); Claire Hall (alto sax); Dan Potter (drums); Freddie Richards (drums); Haaruun Miller (soprano sax); Josh (drums); Fionnula Bradbury (vocals); Alon Dagon (piano); Maddie (trumpet); Edgar Bell (cornet); Libby (vocals); Paul Grainger (double bass); Esther Coombes (clarinet)

3 comments :

Freddie Richards said...

Bro you gave me a ? for drums 😭. I’ll have to wear a sticker next time showing my name 🤷‍♂️

Patti said...

As a little footie related aside, MC Paul told us that he was good pals with the guy who did the music for Wimbledon FC - and it turns out that he always played Herbie's Chameleon at halftime! Also, did you know that Sunderland AFC's club fanzine is called 'A Love Supreme'? What good jazz taste!

Lance said...

Now corrected Freddie - you just can't get the staff these days.

Blog Archive