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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 ...

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.

Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

The Lewis Watson Quartet @ The Black Bull, Blaydon - May 15

(© Roly Veitch)
Lewis Watson (tenor sax); Mark Williams (guitar); Mick Shoulder (double bass); John Bradford (drums) 

The Black Bull is under new management. Following the recent retirement of Carl and Jackie, their successor, Dean, has been busy: the two-room community pub on Bridge Street has been given a lick of paint, new lights have been installed and further improvements are in the pipeline. One thing remains the same and that's the third Monday in the month Blaydon Jazz Club session. This evening's concert featured one of the very best musicians around, be it here in Blaydon, the UK or on Planet Earth. 

They turned out in force for this one and little wonder, when Lewis Watson is in town it's no contest, you just have to be there. Two of the regulars brought along four or five friends and/or relatives, it could be the way forward...you go to your local jazz club, you take along a friend and you double the attendance! Best seats bagged with a Consett Ale Works beer in hand, as tenor saxophonist Watson's ace quartet took to the stage, this evening promised to be something special. Wayne Shorter's Yes and No opened the show, wow! Absolutely stunning, post-bop tenor sax to die for. The giants of the music are in there - Trane, Rollins et al - yet there is the distinctive voice of Lewis Watson, a magisterial tenor player. 

Watson's band mates - guitarist Mark Williams, bassist Mick Shoulder and drummer John Bradford - were well up to the mark, soloing as and when required. George Adams' Autumn SongSong for Keith (for the late Keith Morris), more Shorter in the form of El Gaucho, quite a first set! 

Second set, more of the same, more brilliant tenor playing. A commanding Lover Man, Coltrane at the heart of so much of the music we were hearing here at the Black Bull, these were moments to cherish, every single note. All four musicians firing on all cylinders, Joe Henderson's Inner Urge brought the evening to a close. It had been quite an evening. Lewis Watson doesn't gig too often, more's the shame. Next time he's out and about do yourself a favour, make a point of being there. 

Next month (Monday 19 June) Blaydon Jazz Club presents Pete Tanton's 'Chet Set'. Highly recommended. Russell           

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