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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

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.
Fri 29: True Colours @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 9:00pm. Blues, jazz & swing.

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.

Thu 04: FILM: Soul @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 2:00pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Thu 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 04: Funky Drummer @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 04: Eva Fox & the Jazz Guys @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 04: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Thursday, February 09, 2017

Southport Jazz Festival: Alan Barnes' Octet - February 5.

Alan Barnes, Robert Fowler, Karen Sharpe (saxes); Bruce Adams (trumpet); Mark Nightingale (trombone); Dave Newton (piano); SimonThorpe (bass); Clark Tracey (drums).
(Review Steve T/Photos courtesy of Neil Hughes © Robert Burns.)
This was exactly the same band the North East Jazz fraternity are still talking about after their triumphant Christmas Carol Concert at Ushaw College in December.
That piece featured prominently here, Barnes confirming that playing Southport is like Christmas, alongside excerpts from his Sherlock Holmes Suite and a forthcoming commission about the Grimsby Fishing Industry.
He also played a Moment’s Notice by Coltrane which, he advised, will be how much notice we get when Trump presses the button. And apparently, there's a Trump Suite to look forward to in the future.
Barnes, in Jazz terms, is a national treasure; the genuine article, the real deal. A hilariously grumpy old Jazzman, forewarning Churchillian like, to beware Jazz without blues, sticking to his own path in the Jazz tradition, while constantly forging ahead with his own music, always quality, always with integrity and always with a story to tell.
Derek Nash said the night before you couldn't have a festival without Alan Barnes, and certainly that festival would be diminished. As always, at Southport the humour was working, the alto yearning and the virtuosity certain. 
It's also an all-star band, the third in a row that day to have a lone female, making three out of twenty-nine which I suppose is up historically so at least we're going in the right direction.
At Ushaw, he described Mark Nightingale as one of the best trombone players in the world, there's his old sparring mate on trumpet and two of his favourite saxophonists, including eye candy in the shape of Robert Fowler (sic). Where there's interplay it reminds me of those great Mingus records of the late fifties. When the five of them all play together, it's a sound to behold.
The rhythm section are just as awesome.
At the end he said it was great that people still listen to music, which is what it's for, and it isn't lost on me that I'm trying to write about music, which isn't what it's for - writing about - but I'm also aware that this is relevant to many of the recurring themes in my reviews.
I'm sure everywhere he goes is like a home crowd and this was no exception. He's due in Durham on Friday 10 at the Gala Lunchtime gig with Paul Edis, but tickets are long since sold out. He's then playing Darlington on the evening with Paul’s trio and a certain special guest. 
Steve T.
Photos.

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