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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17444 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 718 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Oct. 10).

From This Moment On ...

October

Sun 13: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 13: Emma Wilson @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Blues.
Sun 13: Catfish Keith @ The Cluny. 7:00pm. Country blues.
Sun 13: Lindsay Hannon + Eleanor Adams @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig. Note, this is a change to the previously advertised gig.
Sun 13: Dulcie May Moreno Quartet @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 13: Jazz Jam @ Fabio’s, Saddler St., Durham. 8:00pm. Free. A DUJS event. All welcome.

Mon 14: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 14: Black is the Color of My Voice @ Hippodrome, Darlington. 7:30pm. Apphia Campbell’s one-woman show inspired by Nina Simone, performed by Nicholle Cherrie.

Tue 15: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law (piano), Paul Grainger (double bass), Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 16: Cath Stephens’ improvisation workshop @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 4:30-6:00pm. Collaborative group focusing on vocal improvisations.
Wed 16: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 16: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 17: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Olivia Cuttill Quintet @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 17: Moonlight Serenade Orchestra UK: Glenn Miller & Big Band Spectacular @ Phoenix Theatre, Blyth. 7:30pm.
Thu 17: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 17: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 17: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. Guests Jeremy McMurray (keys); Richie Emmerson (tenor sax); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Adrian Beadnell (bass). 8:30pm. Free.

Fri 18: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 18: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 18: Hot Club du Nord @ St Cuthbert’s, Crook. 7:30pm.
Fri 18: Chet Set @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. Pete Tanton & co.
Fri 18: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm (upstairs). A Hoodoo Blues dance & social event. £10.00. class & social (£10.00., £7.50., £5.00. social only). Michael Woods (country blues guitar) on stage 9:00pm.
Fri 18: East Coast Swing Band @ Hexham Abbey. 7:30pm. £9.00.
Fri 18: Ben Crosland Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 18: Durham University Jazz Society’s ‘High Standards’ @ Music Dept. Music Room, Divinity House, Palace Green, Durham University DH1 3RS. 8:009-30pm. Tel: 0191 334 1419. £7.00., £5.00.
Fri 18: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Blues Underground, Nelson St., Newcastle. 9:00pm. Free.

Sat 19: Sat 19: Paula Jackman’s Jazz Masters @ St Augustine’s Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm. Darlington New Orleans Jazz Club.
Jeff Hewer Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 19: Howlin’ Mat @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Country blues guitar & vocals. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Monday, May 08, 2023

Preview: Hexham Jazz Festival (May 12-14)

Post-pandemic, and after many a year, in 2022 Hexham Jazz Festival returned to the Northumberland market town. Way back when, the late Ray Brown and co were at the helm, now, with a new management team in place, this year's event looks bigger and better than ever. Beginning on Friday (May 12) the festival is set to expand its activities with concerts once again in Hexham Abbey and, this year, in Queen's Hall on Beaumont Street. Additional performances are scheduled to take place in the grounds of the Abbey, fingers crossed the weather is kind! Throw in a couple of masterclass sessions at Core Music on Gilesgate and an intriguing film presentation at the Forum Cinema and it's beginning to look something like a proper jazz festival!
On Friday evening Paul Edis opens this year's festival in Hexham Abbey with a performance by his acclaimed Ushaw Ensemble. Previous performances in suitably ecclesiastical venues - Ushaw on the outskirts of Durham and off the north Northumberland coast on Holy Island (Lindisfarne) - attracted considerable interest, not to mention large audiences, and this festival concert (7:00pm) is likely to do likewise. The Ushaw Ensemble is a star-studded affair including Northumbrian piper Andy May and violin virtuoso Emma Fisk. Recommended. Following the Ushaw Ensemble at half past eight, An evening with Rachel Sutton presents vocalist Rachel Sutton with her A-list trio featuring pianist Roland Perrin, bassist Andy Champion and drummer Steve Hanley. It all adds up to a superb start to the 2023 Hexham Jazz Festival!

Saturday (May 13) it's Hexham Abbey once again for another double bill. At seven o'clock Freddie Benedict takes to the stage with a 'who's who' of a band! Emerging from his role as vocalist with the renowned National Youth Jazz Orchestra and sellout concerts at Ronnie Scott's, Benedict will be accompanied by Paul Edis, piano, Jamie McCredie, guitar, APPJAG winner Emma Rawicz, saxophone, bassist extraordinaire Andy Champion and drummer, the redoubtable Steve Hanley. The publicity blurb reads: ...a perfectly mixed cocktail of cool jazz standards and Brazilian sambas. Rest assured, it'll be much, much more than that! And you'll really get your money's worth with the evening's closing concert featuring the wonderful Jo Harrop. Originally from Chester-le-Street, Jo is currently riding the crest of a wave with a series of sell out shows around the country and the little matter of a successful recent trip to the Big Apple. Join Jo and the 'house band' (see Freddie Benedict) at 8:30pm. And if you're up for it, at 10:30pm Jazz FM's Nigel Williams will present a DJ set in the Great Hall.

Earlier on Saturday, there is an opportunity to attend masterclass events at Core Music. At 11:00am Freddie Benedict, accompanied by pianist Paul Edis, conducts a workshop aimed at aspiring singers. Emma Rawicz follows at two o'clock, again in the company of Paul Edis, to lead a saxophone workshop. Places are limited, be sure to book in advance.   

On Sunday (May 14) the action moves away from Hexham Abbey as the Forum Cinema and Queen's Hall are pressed into action. At three o'clock there is a rare screening of Ernest Lubitsch's 1921 film The Wild Cat. What's more, Graeme Wilson has bee commissioned to write a score for the occasion. Join Graeme, Paul Edis, bassist Paul Susans and drummer Steve Hanley for what promises to be an intriguing, one-off experience.

Queen's Hall hosts the closing event of the 2023 Hexham Jazz Festival. Guitarist Joe Steels leads his Borealis sextet comprising local lad (and superstar in the making), trumpeter Ferg Kilsby, vocalist Asha Nicholson, and the fine rhythm section of Dan Brown, piano, Paul Susans, bass and Berklee graduate drummer John Hirst. And to close, it's a real blockbuster with none other than Claire Martin and Jamie Safir in concert! Claire, get this for an endorsement - She ranks amongst the four or five finest female jazz vocalists on the planet  (Jazz Times) - will be on stage with pianist Jamie in what promises to be a memorable closing concert. 

Hexham Jazz Festival in partnership with Hampstead Jazz Club is presented in association with Hexham RotaryNorthumberland County Council and Hexham Town Council. Ticket options are available from the box office, see: www.queenshall.co.uk. Russell      

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