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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 2024).

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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

17630 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 904 of them this year alone and, so far, 49 this month (Dec. 20).

From This Moment On ...

December

Sat 21: Lindsay Hannon Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £15.00. ‘Swinging with Christmas Songs’.
Sat 21: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Sat 21: Jackson’s Wharf Xmas Party @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 7:00pm. Free. Featuring the New ’58 Jazz Collective.
Sat 21: Brass Fiesta @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 10:30pm. Free.

Sun 22: Hot Club du Nord @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £15.00. + bf. Xmas party. SOLD OUT!
Sun 22: Red Kites Jazz @ Gibside Chapel, nr. Rowlands Gill. 1:00pm. Admission charge applies.
Sun 22: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.
Sun 22: Ruth Lambert Trio @ The Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 22: Revolutionaires @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb rhythm & blues outfit.
Sun 22: Laurence Harrison, Paul Grainger & Mark Robertson @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Line-up TBC.
Sun 22: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Live music (musicians TBC).
Sun 22: Ray Stubbs R & B All-Stars @ Zerox, Sandhill, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors).

Mon 23: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED!
Mon 23: Edison Herbert Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 4:00pm. Free.
Mon 23: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 4:00-6:00pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Mon 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.

Tue 24: Lindsay Hannon & Mark Williams @ Ernest, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 11:00am-1:00pm. Free.
Tue 24: Paul Skerritt @ Mambo Wine & Dine, South Shields. 1:00pm. Free. Vocalist Skerritt working with backing tapes.

Wed 25: Wot? No jazz!

Thu 26: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. TBC.
Thu 26: The Boneshakers @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. The 17th annual Boneshakers’ Shindig.

Fri 27: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 27: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free. Business as usual!.
Fri 27: Jason Isaacs @ Seaburn STACK, Seaburn. 3:30-5:30pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Fri 27: Michael Woods @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Country blues guitar & vocals.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Bluebut @ The Bridge. November 2

Chris Janka guitar,  Mark Holub drums, Pamelia Kurstin theremin
 (Review by Steve H.)
What a week that was for jazz in Newcastle. One only need glance down the gig reviews on this blog to see just how many and how varied the programme was. Can any city of this size ever have boasted such a veritable feast of quality music? Not surprisingly not everyone can attend every gig and the audience does seem to divide along somewhat factional lines.
The final gig of an entertaining and dare I say it exhaustive week provided the most original offering of all – Bluebut. This is a trio comprising of guitarist Chris Janka, drummer Mark Holub of Led Bib fame and Pamelia Kurstin on theremin. I have seen countless configurations of jazz ensembles over the years from soloists to big bands but none of them has ever featured a theremin. This omission was put quite magnificently to rights on Sunday night at The Bridge. This gig had been described as thrash jazz, improv rock meeting rampaging robots with Captain Beefheart and Jimi Hendrix additions. In fact I didn’t find it that crazy, the hard drumming and throbbing guitar were ever present but amongst all of it I could hear fragments of all the previous gigs I’d attended during the week. Quite easily the highlight of the week was the virtuoso playing of the ever so jolly Kurstin; she was literally playing thin air ! Someone in the audience suggested that Pamelia appeared to be playing air guitar but to me it seemed more like she was sewing an invisible coat as she plucked delicately in the vortex between the theremin and her fingers. The sounds elicited were not as one imagines emanating from a horror or sci-fi movie but were fascinating genuine musical solos. I’ve heard somewhat irreverently that Kurstin is the finest  improvising theremin player in the world. Well if there is a better one around I certainly want to hear them – simply mesmerising.    
Steve.       

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, I couldn't get to this in person (as I was visiting planet Earth at the time) but can I congratulate the BSH reviewer for magnificantly keeping up the pretence that the 'theremin' actually exists. I had read the various previews with interest and was intrigued by the mention of this mysterious instrument that was never explained or described. So I had my suspicions but only now do I realise that it is of course a McGuffin - brilliant!
It was clever to mix in a distracting description of his Halloween night in the Bigg Market ... 'thrash jazz, improv rock meeting rampaging robots' (personally I'd seen some rampaging robots, a couple of Captain Beefhearts and numerous zombies getting into taxis on Osborne Road to head down town)...with the actual gig.
The analogy to playing air guitar is a good one as naturally everyone can relate to that but the idea that Kurstin could have 'plucked delicately at a vortex' is a complete scientific impossibility. This defies the laws of Quantum Physics as if she had gone near a vortex she would have immediately been sucked in, pulled through a wormhole in the cosmos and dumped in a parallel universe probably with One Direction playing constantly on repeat. Also the idea that she could have worked as Harry Potter's tailor is frankly unbelievable, as everybody knows his invisibility cloak does not really exist.
However the clincher is the photo, which is a really nice touch. But just like the photo of the faked moon landing where the flag throwing a shadow is the giveaway, it's the same with this one. Although it appears to look quite convincing and the 'instrument' seems real enough with a black box and a metal loop, if you look at the reflection in the window at the back of the stage - there are No People! Now I know this is not a total impossibility at a Sunday night session but there are the heads of some audience members in the shot.
So a terrific jazz conspiracy, congratulations to all concerned. When is the band coming back? I want to be 'there'.
JC
This is getting worrying...I even had to prove I'm not a robot to send this comment.

stevebfc said...

What a honour JC to inspire such a creative response if there's been a better comment on this blog please point me too it. By the way the big headed beardy bloke in the front is me proving I woz there.

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