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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.

Saturday, January 04, 2014

Mark Toomey Quartet @ Jazz Café. January 3

Mark Toomey (alto saxophone), Jeremy McMurray (piano), Peter Ayton (electric bass) & Kevin O’Neill (drums).
(Review by Russell)
The new look Jazz Café in the first week of the new year was always going to be a hard sell. Credit card max out, post festive blues, January is the longest month. Undeterred, the Mark Toomey Quartet made the journey from the Deep South to play a set of Bird-inspired bop, ballads and Toomey originals. The hardy few were treated to a cracking night of top flight jazz. All the Things You Are set the standard and it, the standard, didn’t drop all night.
Altoist Mark Toomey writes material for the quartet and if you didn’t know it, one could be forgiven for thinking the tunes were taken from the GASbook. A case in point being a Latin original – Those Rainy Summer Days. Another – Song For Laura – reinforced the observation. Toomey is fortunate to have an ongoing working relationship with Jeremy McMurray. The pianist excelled when last heard at Blaydon Jazz Club’s Christmas party and he retained his rich vein of form on this gig. McMurray expressed delight on seeing a ‘real piano’ saying: And it has just been tuned. A rare treat indeed! Cole Porter’s What Is This Thing Called Love was taken at a lick, Charlie Parker style. Toomey flew on this one. Talking of Bird…Ornithology. Toomey flew higher still. Bop heaven. One More Try, with a Latin vibe, further illustrated Toomey’s talents as a composer (McMurray in blues mode). Beautiful Love, one of the great tunes, struggled to reach agreement on the right key – much hilarity, they got there! More Bird – My Little Blue Suede Shoes – and a sizzling Love For Sale (six string bassist Peter Ayton and drummer Kevin O’Neill on the money) made this one of those sessions you didn’t want to end. However, all good things...
The band can be heard next Friday (January 10) on home turf (the Deep South of Tessside) at Saltburn Community Hall. The Saltburn regulars always turn up in numbers – they’re in for a treat, an extra special treat as Toomey has got Blaydon Ace guitarist Roly Veitch on the session. 7:30 pm start, get there early or risk being turned away. Bird Lives!  
Russell.          

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