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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.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Strictly Soakin’ Big Band @ The Tyne Bar. August 20

(Review by Russell).
Summertime down by the Ouseburn. You can bet your bottom dollar the weather will be ‘interesting’. Michael Lamb’s roaring big band played its annual outdoor gig at the Tyne Bar and, as sure as Glenn Miller is missing, the good old British weather turned-up right on cue. Clothes pegs at the ready, the Maling Street wind tunnel would surely do its best.
Make that ‘worst’. Rain, of the torrential variety, arrived ahead of the band. A raincoat, a beanie, a baseball cap…and that was the band! The audience? It would take more than an unseasonal downpour of Noah’s Flood proportions to keep them away. Wind, rain, beer, and a fantastic big band, your typical Saturday afternoon down by the river.
The band started on time. What? Yes, the Tyne Bar’s advertised start time of three thirty meant what it said, no doubt catching some on the hop. Two dozen rain-soaked tunes and a typically stoic Geordie audience loved  every minute of the Strictly Soakin’ Big Band’s two sets ranging from St Louis Blues to Hallelujah I Love Her So. F’reez shared the vocal duties with Alice Grace. F’reez…an appropriate name on a day such as this! Our man did see the funny side of things singing: Sunny and On a Clear Day being two of his features. And a togged-up Alice Grace told us she was Too Darn Hot. Yes, the one-time National Youth Jazz Orchestra star sang with the band. You Make Me Feel So Young, Time After Time, a rollicking Route 66 (a rock n’ roll James Peacock), Ms Grace sang superbly, and the crowd showed its appreciation. Star quality is star quality.   

The band roared defiantly in the face of the weather gods. The trumpet section fired; Pete Tanton’s supporting solos to vocalist Grace, the depping Dave Hignett blowing away rain clouds, with MD Michael Lamb going for it. Steve Summers (alto, soprano & bedraggled  hat – Pork Pie?) grabbed  the lion’s share of the solos, Pawel Jedrzejewski (guitar) played impressively and depping piano player, James Peacock, threatened to steal the show.

A summer holidays’ mix and match trombone section did a grand job, as did the bass and drums boys Michael Whent and Guy Swinton. The engine room partnership is never less than spot-on and this Tyne Bar gig was no different. The band, the material, the glorious weather (not), the Strictly Soakin’ Big Band (a one-off name change!) – what better way to spend a summer Saturday afternoon? 

The Strictly Smokin’ Big Band’s next gig with guest Hailey Tuck is at Hoochie Coochie on Sunday 18 September. It’s another late afternoon start, make sure you’re on time. The  doors open at four o’clock, first set at five. This will be a first opportunity to hear up and coming American singer Ms Tuck in Newcastle. It promises to be quite an occasion.                           
Russell.
Strictly Smokin’ Big Band: trumpets: Michael Lamb (MD), Pete Tanton, Dave Hignett, Stephen Wilkinson; trombones: David Barnes, Chris Kurgi-Smith, Robert 'Pez' Perry, Sarah Bolt; tenor saxophone: Jamie Toms, Alan Marshall; alto & soprano saxophones: Steve Summers; alto saxophone:  Mercedes Phillips; baritone saxophone: Alan Thompson (?); guitar: Pawel Jedrzejewski; keyboards: James Peacock; bass: Michael Whent; drums: Guy Swinton; vocals: Alice Grace & F’reez.

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