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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 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

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Jazz North East presents Splinter @ the Bridge, with OZMA meets Buster – Sept. 13

Julien Soro (saxophones); Paul Jarret (guitar); Edouard Séro-Guillaume (bass); Stéphane Scharlé (drums).
(Review by Steve H./Photos courtesy of Ken Drew) 
Last month a packed St Gabriels Church in Heaton hosted the Buster Keaton classic Steam Boat Bill Junior with a live accompaniment from TV star and silent movie expert Neil Brand. It was a fantastic evening as the movie is a classic and Brand is clearly a very accomplished musician. My wife looked sceptical when on the way home I remarked how much more I would have enjoyed it had the music been of the improvised jazz variety.
Well on Sunday at the Bridge Hotel I was granted my wish as this French band produced a live performance to accompany Buster Keaton’s 3 Ages of Man. The film, Keaton’s first full length feature as director, may not be his finest but it is still very funny. 
The film’s themes focus on man’s perennial attempts to win the girl from a love rival. Each segment of the courtship is shown in 3 different eras, Stone Age, Ancient Rome and 1920’s New York. All the thrills of a classic Keaton film are on show providing an inspirational backdrop for the band to improvise with.
My own favourite scene is when Buster has to take on his adversary in a chariot race in Ancient Rome so as to impress his prospective beau’s parents. As the race is about to start there is a snow storm so Buster replaces the wheels on his chariot with skis and the horses with huskies. All is going well until a conspirator of his rival lures the dogs away with the aid of a small kitten. Our hero captures the kitten attaches it to a stick which he then dangles in front of the huskies who in their frantic attempt to reach the kitten carry him to victory. All the action of the film was wonderfully augmented by the quartet who caught the relevant moods perfectly. At the conclusion of the film the near capacity crowd responded with rapturous applause.
For the second set the quartet played a selection of their own composition and what a treat it was. The band have known each other since attending the conservatoire together in Strasbourg in 2001 and this was reflected in the wonderful empathy they had with each other. The music was powerful, original, creative and exhilarating. All 4 players were fabulous but there was a particular guitar solo by Paul Jaret at the start of a piece that was best thing I have heard all year. The response at the conclusion of the final piece was even more enthusiastic than that given at the interval. Indeed certain members of the audience could be overheard plotting the logistics of a trip to Berwick on Friday night where the band will be performing at ‘The Maltings’.
All in all, a great start to Jazz North East’s monthly Sunday night Splinter season.
Steve H.

2 comments :

Ken Drew (on F//b) said...

Lovely review, Steve of a wonderful performance. A gig of two distinct halves - literally - and quite exhilarating all the way through. A fantastic start to the new season of jazz from Jazz North East

Paul Bream said...

I agree entirely with Steve and Ken about the quality of the performance. Most musicians playing accompaniments to silent movies seem to feel that they have to work broadly in the musical style of the film's own era, but what was fantastic about the OZMA performance was that the music was uncompromisingly contemporary, yet worked perfectly with the images on screen - a demonstration that great art (and in this case I mean the film and the music) has the capacity to work across the (three) ages.

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