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Bebop Spoken There

Wendell Brunious: "Because the blues is not 1,4 and 5 or 1,4,5,2,1. You could wake up with a flat tyre or a headache this morning, that's the blues, man" - (DownBeat, Oct. 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

15878 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 885 of them this year alone and, so far, 83 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

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

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums). CANCELLED!

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Paul Skerritt @ Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse, Primrose Hill, Jarrow. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 483 3355.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Sound the Trumpets @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hot Club du Nord @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00. POSTPONED!
Thu 05: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Tommy Bentz Trio + Mark Croft Duo + George Shovlin & George Lamb @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Harbour View Speakeasy's USA blues double bill + Shovlin & Lamb!
Thu 05: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 06: Alcyona Mick @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 06: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 06: WORKSHOP: Philosophy of Arts & Entertainment @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 2:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Balo @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Paul Skerritt @ 3Sixty Champagne Lounge, Hadrian’s Tower, Newcastle. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 933 8591.
Fri 06: Lexer/Mayes/Noble + Semay Wu + Miman @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Fri 06: Dulcie May Moreno @ The Vault, Hexham. 7:30pm. £20.00. Book in advance. Moreno with Alan Law, Paul Grainger & John Bradford.
Fri 06: Dean Stockdale Quartet @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm. 'Celebrating Oscar'.
Fri 06: Nu Brass Sounds: Big Brass Bash @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Fri 06: King Bees @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 07: WORKSHOP: Philosophy of Arts & Entertainment @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 10:15am. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Hot Club du Nord @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 07: Bugge & Niccols + Moore & Fairhall @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - All the Things You Are. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 07: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 07: Rie Nakajima @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Paul Skerritt @ 3Sixty Champagne Lounge, Hadrian’s Tower, Newcastle. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 933 8591.
Sat 07: Samuel Blaser Trio + Toxvaerd & Zeeberg + Muramatsu & Welch @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sat 07: Anth Purdy @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sat 07: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.

Sun 08: Zoë Gilby Quintet + Ubunye @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Line-up inc. Tony Kofi. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 08: Tommy Bentz Band @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. USA blues band.

Friday, October 31, 2014

Gregory Porter/Nina Ferro @ Sage Gateshead October 30.

Gregory Porter (vcl); Chip Crawford (pno); Aaron James (bs); Emanuel Harold (dms); Yosuke Sato (alt).
Well, what can I say? Sage Gateshead was three tiers full. A sure indication that they've got it right! Gregory Porter is quite an amazing performer and to pull such a following is something else. And they all loved him!
As well they should.
The big man in the funny hat gave an assured performance and, if I hadn't heard him earlier this year at Hoochie, this would have probably been a rave review. But, how can you compare the intimate setting of a 250 max bar where, if you got there early enough, you could almost shake hands with the star, with row BB in a 1,640 auditorium where the big man (and he is a big man) was but a distant object?!
The program was near enough the same as at HC, the band likewise, and Yosuke Sato remains one of the best alto sax players I've heard this (or any) year but, unlike the adoring masses around me, it didn't quite connect with me ...if only I hadn't been to Hoochie in March...
-----
Nina Ferro (vcl); Grant Windsor (pno/vcl)..
When I see those dreaded words "Plus Support" I groan and hope my seat is close enough to an exit to enable me to escape and "support" the bar. However, when the support act turned out to be Nina Ferro all thoughts of another glass of Pinot Grigio vanished (my bank manager will be pleased to know!) and I remained firmly glued to my seat.
I first heard Nina Ferro back in 2009 at the Spice of Life down in Soho - a venue even smaller than Hoochie - and although I hadn't heard her since I knew she was still very active on the London scene.
How would she fare in Sage Gateshead's Hall One with only a pianist in support?
I say "only" but when that "only" is Grant Windsor the only becomes totally superfluous! I've heard the Aussie pianist several times with Clare Teal (by coincidence, the lady sitting next to me, Megan, was also from Down Under) and with Grant at the Steinway it was second only to Nina having the Northern Sinfonia in her corner.
Nina's set included several numbers from her latest CD (soon to be reviewed here) as well as Up On The Roof (Drifters?) and set the scene for the "Big Picture".
Lance.

5 comments :

Liz said...

well Lance, I read in today's Readers' letters in our local newspaper that, having played York Barbican on Tuesday Gregory said that we had "fantastic acoustics " here. Maybe that helped....

Lance said...

Nothing wrong with the acoustics at Sage Gateshead as well you know and Gregory Porter does have a great voice. The point I was trying to make was the contrast between having heard him singing in "your front room" and hearing him in a concert hall!

stevebfc said...

Fine singer she maybe but having Nina Ferro as a support act for Gregory Porter was akin to having Cliff Richard support the Sex Pistols. I left half way through a set to secure a pint of Wylam which at £4.95 was a bargain given the circumstances.
As for the great man himself I can only imagine how much better he must have been at the intimate Hoochie my enjoyment wasn’t helped by the giant of man sat in front who produced a total eclipse of the stage. As for the band as I was largely unimpressed Sato’s solo’s being more cheesy than a box of overripe Camembert. Clearly I was in the minority as the X Factor sized crowd seemed to love every minute of the show but I personally thought Mr Porter failed to carry this one off.

Lance said...

Steve, in the unlikely event of me ever having been at a Sex Pistols gig I'd have welcomed having Cliff Richards on the bill!
As regards the alto player all I can say is "Pass me the cheeseboard I rather like Camembert!"

Hugh said...

The alto sax playing was technically brilliant, I thought, but some of the arpeggiated solos were a bit "samey". I did love the brief exposure to soprano sax during one of the quieter numbers though.
Geoffrey was, well, "The Man"!
As regards the support act. I think Nina Ferro was an excellent choice and complemented the main man perfectly. GP may have considerable jazz influences, but is certainly not "just" a jazz artist, soul being the other main contender I would have thought.

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