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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

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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