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Bebop Spoken There

James Brandon Lewis: "Sometimes I'm not thinking about anything other than blowing the paint off the walls, and other times I'm narrating a story about my life." - (DownBeat June 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

15516 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 536 of them this year alone and, so far, 25 this month (June 7).

From This Moment On ...

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Jeffrey Hewer @ The Vault, Darlington Covered Market, Darlington. 6:00-8:00pm. Free.
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Sun 11: Jam No. 19 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 13: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 13: Infusion Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:30pm.
Tue 13: Alice Grace & Pawel Jedrzejewski @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv.).

Wed 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 14: NUJO Final Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcastle. 6:30pm. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra's final jam session of the academic year. All welcome.
Wed 14: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 14: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 14: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 15: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 15: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 15: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Thu 15: Alexander Ord Trio @ Tynedale Beer & Cider Festival, Tynedale Rugby Club, Corbridge. Evening, time TBC.
Thu 15: Têtes de Pois + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. Time TBC.
Thu 15: Indigo Jazz Voices @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Jazz North East & Splinter @ the Bridge present a ‘Women Make Music’ event; Beatrix Ward-Fernandez Trio + Watching Sideways @ The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle – March 8.


Beatrix Ward-Fernandez (theremin); Derek Saw (flugelhorn, valve trombone, tuba); Charlie Collins (drums, percussion).
Zoë Gilby (voice & electronics).
(Review by Steve H/photos courtesy of Ken Drew)
There used to be a TV series - ‘Who Pays the Ferryman?’ Jazz North East/Splinter seem to have created their own similarly named series - ‘Who plays the Theremin?’ As the old adage goes you wait decades for a jazz Theremin player to come along and then two come along at once. The Beatrix Ward-Fernandez trio arrived hot on the heels of the Splinter appearance of Bluebut at The Bridge last November featuring Theremin player Pamelia Kurstin.  

As the official BSH Theremin reviewer, I can safely say that no two Theremin players are alike. Ward-Fernandez’s playing takes a far more minimalistic approach than Kurstin’s so there were less melodic solos but more punctuated interactions. The dominant force behind the trio was the one man brass band Derek Saw who played tuba, valve trombone and trumpet with considerable aplomb although not necessarily all at the same time. The magnificently bearded Collins on percussion provided a great visual spectacle and seemed to have more tricks up his sleeve than Paul Daniels which is somewhat appropriate because any band which includes a Theremin in its line-up is always going to be somewhat magical.
The event was part of the popular ‘Woman Make Music’ series and the first part of this impressive double bill saw the launch of Zoe Gilby’s ‘Watching Sideways’ project. Zoe performed a set of vocal pieces using a range of electronic effects to produce an incredible virtuoso solo piece of performance art. There were some completely improvised pieces and some based on well known tunes including Don’t Stop me Now and a memorable version of Dolly Parton’s Jolene. The set ended with a piece which contained the repeating lyric Crazy girl in the park, I don’t know if this is autobiographical or not but at its conclusion the packed audience responded with rapturous applause. 
The final part of the evening saw both halves of the double bill unite to perform an exhilarating final collaboration.  Yet another triumph for the Jazz North East’s Women Make Music season.
Steve H.

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