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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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

June

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.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

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).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

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.

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