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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.

Wednesday, August 08, 2018

Zakir Hussain, Dave Holland & Chris Potter @ Edinburgh Assembly Hall - July 22

(Review by Steve T).
One of my favourite musicians in the world, one of a diminishing number of jazz musicians who can unequivocally claim the status of living legend, and one of the hottest sax players on the planet.
Tabla, bass and sax: a dream set up for me, and I've just missed them at least three times in the past couple of years.
The first time I saw Zakir Hussain, he and John McLaughlin put Shakti back together, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the partition of India and Pakistan. He's one of the few musicians who can hold his own and, on that showing, trump the guitar colossus. Two decades on, his technique is undiminished, but he's gained in stature and charisma.
This was the third time I'd seen Chris Potter: with Pat Metheny’s Unity Band/Group and his own quartet, so I was well aware that he was perfectly capable of standing with giants.
I'd never seen Dave Holland, though I've heard countless albums he's played on, including a number of major classics. He's the finest exponent I've ever heard to hold down the traditional bass function while simultaneously stepping way beyond that role.

A few seriously restricted viewing seats short of a sell-out, the anticipation was palpable and nobody left disappointed.
They shared the announcements: pieces from each of them, some written for each other, one by Hussain for McLaughlin, Hussain and Holland, the latter two both referred to as maestro during the set.
But titles of individual stretches of music and who wrote them wasn't the point; this was three master musicians, hanging together brilliantly and displaying dazzling levels of inventiveness and virtuosity.
I don't think anybody could have been disappointed when the lights came on, but the three returned to the stage for what I'm convinced was a genuinely unscheduled and unplanned encore; the only time I can remember a band returning and playing another after the lights had come on.
Gig of the year, any year. 
Steve T.

2 comments :

Hugh said...

Great review, Steve. Sounds like a gig not to be missed! The only one of the musicians I've had the privilege to see live is Dave Holland. Your description is spot-on. Cool (but with a small "c") and understated, but with great presence. I remember his bass as not being quite the traditional instrument, but having a slightly "cut-down" appearance.

Russell said...

I concur with Hugh's comments. One of Steve T's better reviews...that's a compliment, Steve!

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