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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.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. 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.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Dead Hedge Trio @ The Jazz Café. January 30


Nick Branton (tenor saxophone & clarinet), Rory Ballantyne (guitar) & Michael Metcalfe (drums) 
(Review by Russell/photos by Kath Jobes - left - and Mike Tilley - Right.)
All seats were taken before the eight o’clock start. The Dead Hedge Trio started on time. Liverpool based, a gig in Leeds the previous evening, the trio were, for the first time, on the road in earnest. Saxophone, guitar and drums and, of course, a few pedals. Tenor man Nick Branton the (visual) focus, the trio kicked-off with North West and Lonely Woman. The Jazz Café, essentially a standards jazz venue, took a little while adjusting to the sound of Dead Hedge.
Layered, hard-blowing composed to free jazz pieces, Branton, Ballantyne and Metcalfe embodied the spirit of the 1960s American avant garde (Ayler, Coleman, Taylor). Branton rocked and rolled (physically), tenor raised to the sky, then swooping to the floor, raging. Rory Ballantyne played a black Gretsch for most of the evening; rhythmic, hammered, inventive, different; Frisell to Americana to the blues. Michael Metcalfe (an erstwhile Tyne Valley resident) is the equal of any of the new crop of brilliant British drummers. A busy hi-hat, sticks and mallets, Metcalfe breezed through complex rhythmic patterns. Eel Song, an original number impressed, and the fist set closed on Ornette’s Broadway Blues. Very, very impressive.
Second set: The confines of the Jazz Café imposed an eye-contact intimacy between the musicians and the within-touching-distance audience. Branton’s guttural exhortations maintained the momentum on Antibiotic. Metcalfe, endlessly inventive, Ballantyne knew it was going well, a contented smile amidst the intensity of it all. Monster Munch hinted at the demonic fury of other, established trios on the scene – no names, the name Dead Hedge is the name to check-out. The true tale of five in a Nissan Sunny over the AlpsDriving with John – closed the set. The Spirit of Albert Ayler was with the Dead Hedge Trio – Rejoice! From time to time a gig earns a Bebop Spoken Here nomination for Gig of the Year. It will take something special to better this Jazz Café performance by the Dead Hedge Trio.
Russell.

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