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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Thursday, December 05, 2013

Marilyn Crispell & Raymond MacDonald + John Pope & Greta Buitkute @ King’s Hall, Newcastle University. December 4

Marilyn Crispell (piano) & Raymond MacDonald (alto & soprano saxophones), Andy Champion (double bass)
(Review by Russell/Photos by Ken Drew.)
There was a huge turn out in Armstrong Building, Newcastle University. The Congregation exited King’s Hall – academics, graduates and guests – following an awards ceremony. Photographs taken, bouquets discarded, within minutes the building stood deserted. The scheduled gig in the Recital Room proved problematic as the space functioned as a cloak room for the duration, coats racks everywhere, the Steinway in there somewhere. Only one thing to do, hold the gig in the King’s Hall. Rows of empty chairs from the earlier assembly would surely fill up. Of course they didn't. Platform with ceremonial chairs and throne made for a surreal backdrop. Steinway in position, bar set up, the audience started to arrive. 
The usual faces, first name terms, the state of the music in these difficult times for the small scale promoter. Small promoter, big gig. American pianist Marilyn Crispell joined forces once more with reeds virtuoso Raymond Macdonald. A relationship born of their meeting at Jazz North East’s On the Outside Festival, the duo have gone on to play concerts and document their music making on CD.
The ‘product’ sold like hot cakes (mince pies?) on the night, testament to the exceptional performance heard by the lucky few. Crispell appeared in Newcastle way back with Anthony Braxton and years later in the King’s Hall the self effacing American reaffirmed her rare talent. Head bowed, hunched over the keyboard, Crispell’s two handed note clusters inspired Raymond MacDonald to ever greater heights. Alto or soprano, the amiable Scot gave the performance of a lifetime. Notes reached up into the cloistered rafters ringing crystal clear to the echo. MacDonald’s keen ear responded to the acoustic, incorporating the delay of cathedral like proportions into his playing. Possessing imperious technique, the jazz – and it was ‘real’ jazz – took some believing. The rapport between the musicians telepathic, the playing stonkingly good. One piece recalled In a Sentimental Mood, another infused with gospel sounds, the truth. 
At the close the duo invited double bassist Andy Champion to join them for an encore. Three string Champion (one string broke!) slotted in comfortably, as one has come to expect.
Earlier John Pope (double bass|) & Greta Buitkute (voice) played a short opening set. Pope’s recent improv outings have seen him take giant strides, looking and sounding increasingly at home in the genre. Buitkute chooses to explore the possibilities of the human voice, pushing boundaries, as they say. Working acoustically on this gig, her quiet excursions required concentrated listening, lower register guttural sounds projected without the aid of a mic. An interesting set, a wonderful evening, a contender for Gig of the Year! 
Russell.

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