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Bebop Spoken There

Delfeayo Marsalis: "Slide Hampton once told me that it's not always the person that is playing the highest or playing the fastest that's making the greatest impact." - (DownBeat March 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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 21: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 21: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Jacob Egglestone (guitar); Jamie Watkins (bass guitar); Bailey Rudd (drums).

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

Joe Morris Quartet @ The Bridge Hotel, Newcastle - Dec. 6

Joe Morris (gtr); Mat Maneri (viola); Chris Lightcap (bs); Gerald Cleaver (dms).
(Review/photo by Ken Drew).
Making a single day stopover visit to Newcastle for their one and only appearance in the UK during their current European tour, the Joe Morris Quartet were on the button with two sets of free improvisation. Despite travel delays and a demanding tour schedule, they performed as fresh and as keenly as ever.  
The audience at The Bridge (circa 40) came from far and wide (including Wakefield) and listened intently to the two sets. This was improv performed by well-established exponents of their trade.  The music flowed effortlessly, or so it seemed between solos, duos and quartet.  It is, of course, far more complex in its structure and creative inventiveness, than its natural flows would initially suggest.   Their concentration was sometimes hidden through their flawless playing and seamless movement between pieces, each nicely linked by the full force of the quartet, giving way to solo-space where solos were allowed to fully develop.
It’s worth searching out their last CD “Balance” (2014) if only to sample a few tracks.  If you were at this concert then it’s a good reminder of the music and the rather unique occasion we all enjoyed, and if you weren’t there then it’s the next best thing, although lacking the live visuals of concentration and interplay between these masterful players.
What a superb gig – a real coup for Jazz North East, and a memorable gig for those who helped pack the upstairs room at the Bridge. A final word from Joe himself, was to thank the audience not so much for coming along, but for their dedicated concentration which for the band adds to the enjoyment and value of performing this music. Much appreciated, all-round !
Ken Drew

1 comment :

Paul Bream said...

Ken's review of this is spot on . . . the gig was a masterclass by four of the finest and most empathetic improvisers you could find anywhere . . . the spontaneous interaction between them was surely telepathic. But don't just take my word for how good this gig was . . . this is what Joe Morris himself has subsequently emailed: "Wonderful space and audience". And it gets better, because the whole thing was recorded by Jazz North East's in-house engineer Charlie McGovern, and Joe goes on to say: "I'll be writing to Charlie to get the recording. We think it might be the next JM4tet CD, that's how good we felt about the gig".
I don't know of too many live recordings that have emerged from the Bridge Hotel, but when there's a prospect of something from a group of this international brilliance, well, that's next year's Xmas presents all take care of!

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