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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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.

Monday, October 17, 2011

The Head of Steam. Sunday Oct. 16

The Bridge on a Sunday is a well established jazz gig - see LL's review of Zoe G's latest appearance  - and it was brought to my attention by LL himself that there was some late-night jazz going on down in the Head of Steam's basement bar. Well, having left the Bridge sometime after eleven, walking past the place I couldn't help but have a look in. Pianist Paul Taylor had long gone (see LL's piece) and the boys from NUJO were on the stand. 
NUJO? Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra - not the full band but plenty of them. They were cool twen-teen somethings. They all had beards except the piano player - she most certainly did not. Cool. Standing at the bar I ordered a pint. What was that tune? Ah, it sounded a bit like Tito Puente's Oye Como Va. The trumpet player (bearded) sat this one out. He sat on and in one of those deep, deep sofas you can only find in a cool place like this. He was cool, oblivious to all around him, fingering the valves and laying down the greatest solo of all time - in his head. I sat down next to him. I sat down, he sprung up. Cool. 
Jaco's The Chicken, in the pad of any self-respecting student band, caught my attention. The bass player kept it together as all around him grabbed a solo - alto, soprano, guitar, keys (no beard), trumpet. Cool. Soprano sax played My Favourite Things. Trane would have nodded his approval. Cool. 
The quality quotient rose considerably as Lindsay Hannon sat in. She called on guitar maestro Mark Williams (bearded) to join her on Georgia. Cool. Really cool. A bop work-out followed with everyone looking cool. Hannon gave way to Claire Kelly who told us she was Born on a Friday. A true statement? I know not. She was, however, most certainly cool. 
As I wandered off home sometime in the early hours I asked a student if this would be a regular gig. Maybe, he said. Cool.
Russell.   

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Great to hear that there's a late night jazz gig in town.
Just one scientific question:
Can a Head of Steam be cool?

JC

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