Total Pageviews

Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 2023).

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!"

Postage

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Grecian God of Tenor @ Blaydon - Vasilis Xenopoulos with the Paul Edis Trio.

Vasilis Xenopoulos (ten); Paul Edis (pno); Mick Shoulder (bs); Adam Sinclair (dms).
(Review by Lance).
Amazingly there were empty tables at the front of the stage! Every sax player within walking, biking, bus-ing, driving, swimming, parachuting, distance should have been here. Likewise, pianists, drummers and bassists. You guys think you can learn it all at college or by listening to downloads? Get out and around the gigs - tonight would have got you there in 15 minutes on the number 11 bus from outside of the Central Station. The sad thing is, you'll never know the pleasure your apathy caused you to miss and maybe you'll wonder why nobody comes to your gigs.
Rant over. The stalwarts, which included 2 JNE members as well those rain and shine Blaydon supporters, were treat to an evening of pure, unadulterated, modern swing by a tenor player who is surely Greece's greatest export.
A recent post in the Jazz Breakfast Blog regretted the lack of competitiveness in jazz these days, drawing a parallel with the Olympics and of the excitement stimulated by head to head combativity. Jazz, in days gone by, thrived on that combativity - big bands at the Savoy, JATP, The Chase with Dexter and Wardell and so many more.
Well Vasy is just such a player. He's a jammer, a Pier 6 brawler who floats like a butterfly and stings like a King Curtis cobra. Meet him on a dark night in a jam session and you'll get cut to pieces - unless your name is maybe John Coltrane.
Tonight was less violent and rather more beautiful as he sailed through I'll Close My Eyes, Freddie Greene's Corner Pocket, Nature Boy, an original dedicated to Lee Morgan titled Morganlee and A Time For Love
Vasy opted to blow unmiked on this one and the sound emitted from the Cannonball tenor  (with personalised reinforced crook) was one that gave me goose-bumps.
The supportive trio were in there too with  the star referring to Edis as the Local Hero. Well, local only in the sense that the world is his oyster and local could now mean anywhere! Shoulder and Sinclair, Mick and Adam too were singled out and played brilliantly.
Rollins' Oleo saw out the first set with some blistering Blue Note tenor reminiscent of Hank Mobley.
Said a few hellos during the interval, lost the raffle, then settled back down for the second set. No bus worries tonight thanks to the kindness of Norman.
Makin Whoopee' and did he not! At breakneck tempo "Whoopee" was most definitely made! Minor Chant - a Stanley Turrentine composition had that blood-curdling feel to it that minor key pieces always evoke with the bass/tenor (sans drums and keys) choruses being particularly effective.
More balladry with I Won't Send Roses from Mack and Mabel, Valse Hot, and a sumptuous My One and Only Love before the evening drew to a close with No More Blues featuring Adam Sinclair.
Truly a night to remember - just a shame some folk forgot!
Photos.
Lance.

3 comments :

john rowland said...

This event was advertised as a ciu in Garden Street, Blaydon. When I finally made it, a woman on the door told me "there's no jazz here".

The rest of Blaydon looked as if it was being dug up in late night road works.

Vasilis is a terrific player. Sorry to miss him.

Anonymous said...

Playing again with Vas and the trio tonight at the Travellers Rest, Cockerton if you want to try again?!

Sorry for the confusion,

Paul

Lance said...

John, I've spoken to Roly who runs Blaydon Jazz Club and he thinks you may have mistakenly went to the Railway Club at the other side of the roundabout. Still it's strange the lady on the door didn't direct you to the CIU club. I agree the roadworks are causing some confusion - our bus driver even got it wrong!

Blog Archive