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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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

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.

Tuesday, April 08, 2014

GIJF Day Three: The Waal; Hannabiell & Midnight Blue

The Waal: Ian Stephenson (guitar, melodeon); Andy May (keyboard, Uilean pipes); Sophie Ball (Fiddle); Kyran Matthews (saxes); Martin ? (drums).
(Review by Ann Alex).
The band member I spoke to wasn’t sure of the drummer’s surname, so I’ll excuse myself not knowing, such is the world of folkies, it’s the music that matters, as in jazz.  This was hugely enjoyed by the audience and myself, but I wouldn’t know whether it was jazz or folk, so it was an effective lesson in deciding whether labels mean anything. 
Some numbers came out (to me at least) as folk, such as the reels, composed by Stephenson, with Uilean (Irish) pipes, good drumming, complimented by soprano sax, which turned jazzy only at the end of the piece.  In others, the jazzy sax solos were well integrated into the piece, such as the opening number, with its folky riff overlaid by sax.  Most of the music was original, based on the idea of Hadrian’s Wall, the ‘Waal’ of the title;  the first item was called Knock It Down.
The band continued with such numbers as May’s London In July and The Road To Coburns. A Scandanavian based tune had the guitar leading, musical trembles from the rest of the band and a sensuous-sounding sax. May’s tune 541 included a haunting soprano sax, and the set was rounded off with a delightful French tune in 7/8 time.
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HannaBiell & Midnight Blue
Hannabiell Sanders (bass trombone, mbira, percussion, voice); Yilis Del Carmen Suriel (percussion, mbira); Katy Trigger (bass); Mark Barfoot (African percussion); Matthew Ross (drum, congas); Mick Wright (guitar); Paul Ruddick (sax, flute, voice)
The musicians enter one by one and play bits and pieces casually, which builds the tension. The odd drum beat here and there, a few shouts.  At the right moment the music breaks out, led by the extravert Hannabiell, and you just have to go with her flow, it’s irresistible.  The band’s music is described as Afro-Caribbean and Latin percussion, jazz, Afro-beat, funk and reggae, all blended together, and the mix of instruments listed above gives a big clue.  And more than all this is the forceful personality of Hannbiell with her ‘child’ Tyler the bass trombone, as she urges us to ‘Free yourself to my reason.’
 Much singing of insistent riffs and clapping, a few of the audience are dancing at the side, and it may have been a good idea for the front half of the hall to be cleared of chairs.  Out come the mbiras, which look like large round frying pans.  These are held on the knees and there are keys inside which produce a lovely round type of tone, very Caribbean.  The NRFH has now turned into a nightclub with light moving round the walls. 
Hannabiell sings a Caribbean song which is dedicated to community activism, sax and drums cut across the mbiras, the whole band plays, then Katy has a bass solo, followed by solos on flute, then guitar, fair shares demonstrates the community spirit.  Hannabiell actually dances with Tyler, then comes a chant and a train rhythm and a final song.
The audience naturally demand an encore, and Hannabiell comes off the stage to the front row, dances with one or two people (I was one), then the whole band comes off stage and leads us all out, downstairs, to play rhythms on the concourse.  A fitting end to the festival!
Ann Alex

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