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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Gateshead International Jazz Festival Triple Bill - Sunday March 25

Robert Mitchell (pno); Tom Mason (bs); Richard Spaven (dms). 
(Photo courtesy of The Sage.)
This was the first of a triple bill and it set a high bar. I first heard Mitchell at Live Theatre when his phenomenal technique almost eclipsed Matana Roberts. Later, he showed at The Cluny and I recall the late Chris Yates gasping in awe at his technique - we all were!
Today that dynamic technique hasn't vanished, The hands move as fast as the average windmill in a tornado - maybe a little faster - and the ideas keep pace. Bass and Drums stay in the race. Wish I could remember the name of the nocturnal, classical, reverie he played, It didn't swing but, in its, own way, it did.
Lance. 
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Zoe Rahman (piano) Idris Rahman (clarinet) Gene Calderazzo (drums) Davide Mantovani (bass).
(Photo courtesy of llze Kitshoff.)
It just shows what women can do in jazz!  Two great concerts with women at the helm, Gwyneth Herbert on Saturday and Zoe Rahman on Sunday.  And both ladies have such engaging personalities, it was a joy to be there.
Zoe is touring the UK to mark the release of her fifth album Kindred Spirits, so most of the numbers were from that recording.  Zoe had an Irish Grandmother and the tunes were influenced by melodies of Ireland and the rhythms of jigs and reels, as well as the sounds of Indian music, which was especially noticeable on the clarinet.  And I’ve never seen such a ‘physical’ musician as this clarinettist, he swayed and stepped, legs wide apart, as if the clarinet was simply part of himself, which I suppose it is.
Numbers played included Go Where Glory Leads You, with a light rippling piano and Indian influenced clarinet;  My Heart Dances, which involved a sort of jig on the piano, eastern influences on the clarinet, drums and clarinet swapping bars, and a lively drum solo for good measure.  Then came Rise above, and There are People Here ,which featured a strong tune on the clarinet and a good solo from the bass.  These are all skilled musicians but Zoe shines out as the person at the helm.  Zoe told us that her Bengali father had passed away this week but was with us in spirit.  The show must go on, as they say.
All three levels of Hall 2 were full, so many people were glad that the show went on. 
Ann Alex. 
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Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Walter Smith III (tenor saxophone), Sam Harris (piano), Harish Raghavan (double bass) & Justin Brown (drums).
(Photo courtesy of Mark Savage).   
American trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire, not yet thirty years of age, has worked with star names before his eighteenth birthday and been placed in several prestigious polls – featuring in the top twenty trumpeters in Downbeat’s readers’ poll, achieving a 4 star rating in the magazine’s Best CDs of 2011 for his latest release When the Heart Emerges Glistening and Jazz Times’ critics considered him Best Trumpet 2011 ahead of Terence Blanchard (one of his teachers) and Wynton Marsalis and the critics’ picks saw his CD bettered only by releases from Sonny Rollins and Joe Lovano. An impressive cv by any standards. 
Akinmusire’s festival appearance was his second visit to The Sage having previously worked as sideman to Jon Escreet. The quintet format for this latest concert appearance recalled an earlier era of front line horns listening then trading to and fro. Youthful pianist Sam Harris sketched chords, all the time looking to insert a line here and there. Bassist Harish Raghavan and Justin Brown (drums) exuded class throughout but the focus was on Akinmusire and tenor saxophonist Walter Smith III. Bandleader Akinmusire has assimilated the sounds of modern jazz trumpet – Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, the brilliance of Lee Morgan – to find a voice of his own in a crowded trumpeters’ market place. His next visit to Tyneside cannot come soon enough.
Russell              

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