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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

15516 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 536 of them this year alone and, so far, 25 this month (June 7).

From This Moment On ...

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: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
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: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
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.

Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 14: NUJO Final Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcastle. 6:30pm. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra's final jam session of the academic year. All welcome.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
. Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Saturday, October 13, 2012

You can’t play that music tonight, that music belongs to the morning!

(By Ann Alex).
And that restriction, jazzers, is one of the rules about playing Indian ragas, as I learned when attending the lecture about South Asian music, at the Sage on Tuesday this week, given by Prof. David Clarke of Newcastle University.  This was an interesting and fascinating illustrated talk.  I'll try to convey the information given, though I'm no expert.  Jazz musicians will identify with some of the ideas behind this form of music.
Prof. Clarke was discussing Northern Indian classical music, known as Hindustani music.  Rather than our formal written classical music, this is ‘mood’ music with a certain ‘feel’, hence the rule that certain pieces or ‘Ragas’ can only be played at certain times of the day.  The music is improvised within a set structure and most musicians are able to play about 100 ragas, although there are 1000s in existence.  The music isn't normally written down except for teaching purposes.  No two performances of the same raga will be identical.
First, the drone is set up, played on a 4 stringed instrument. We were told that this is played by stroking each string as you'd stroke a lover!  The drone plays throughout the piece and can be produced electronically.  Then comes the main instrument, often a sitar or the voice, and the raga is established by playing the relevant notes for that raga from the scale.  The note names are Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni.  After some time, possibly 5 or so minutes of playing, the two tabla drums begin repeating their pattern of 12 or 16 notes, called Thekas, as appropriate for the raga.  There is improvisation by the sitar and drums, although the drums have to be subtle.  The raga proceeds through the various sections, often ending with very fast tabla playing.  How do the musicians know when to begin a new section?  Prof Clarke said ‘They just know!’  This must sound familiar to jazz musicians.
If someone is singing the raga, the words are either religious or romantic, or sometimes both combined.  I recently heard a raga performance and the music reminded me of Western minimalist classical music, say that of Philip Glass, but more complex.  Apparently the ethos of ragas is in the background of lots of Indian music, including popular music.  I was fascinated by this talk which has demystified an unfamiliar type of music.  There is more information about performances at
Ann Alex.

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