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Bebop Spoken There

Simon Spillett: “ Bebop and hard bop came naturally to him [Tubby Hayes]". Morning Star, March 28, 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

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Relaxin’ with Saxophonics on Buster Keaton’s Boat. January 24

Saxophonics: Keith Robinson (alto & soprano saxophones), Steve Summers (alto & tenor saxophones), Graeme Wilson (tenor saxophone) & Niall Armstrong (baritone saxophone)
(Review by Russell)
Saxophonics at the Jazz Café. The dedicated few up front, the chattering classes at the back. Intoxicated or cloth-eared, it is difficult to understand how anyone can’t sit with rapt attention when Saxophonics take to the stand. A pad of originals, classic numbers arranged and in some cases painstakingly transcribed, the Tyneside based saxophone quartet are up there with the best of them. New York to Camarillo to Blyth to the wine bar, Saxophonics traverse the chamber jazz globe reaching for the stars (make that the moon). Small in number, the sound is often that of a roaring large ensemble.
Tenor man Graeme Wilson’s Street of Furs opened the show, as it does on the quartet’s recently released CD The River Flows at Night. Four musicians engaged in musical conversation; convivial consensus, a joke, laughter, a discordant disagreement (amicably resolved), a point well made. The interaction is as tight as could be; sight-readers all, a knowing cue, a telepathic understanding. On more than one occasion one or more of the ensemble took a step back in admiration of their band mates’ solo flights. A new Niall Armstrong tune - Go Forth - sounded good, let’s hear it again. Wilson’s Damfino is one to hear again and again. Check out Brass Jaw’s recording of the tune, a tune to stand the test of time.
The River Flows at Night took it down, late night. Mike Mower’s charts appeal to the quartet allowing Keith Robinson’s incisive soprano to strike out and again on Armstrong’s Accidental Death. Wilson’s Stranded at the Wine Bar evoked that sense of dread - being in the wrong place, wearily accepting of the fact, hoping something (someone?) will turn up. Relaxin’ at Camarillo,  A Night in Tunisia, The New Wallaw (aka The New Wetherspoon’s!) - three fantastic tunes. More please! Bobby Watson? Yes, please! Oh. yes…Come Fly with Me. What more could one ask?
Keith Robinson alluded to the absence of a rhythm section (the Jazz Café is a little cramped). The bass player must have been hiding around the corner. Nope. The quartet’s internal rhythm section - Niall Armstrong - achieved super human feats. It was all down to Armstrong and relief rhythm maker Wilson. The altoists - Robinson and Steve Summers – soared, reaching for the stars. It was some journey. Buster Keaton’s boat? Damfino was the name, apparently.               
Russell.                    

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