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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.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Zoe Gilby (vocals) & Andy Champion (double bass) @ Jazz Cafe. January 23 via Sheila Jordan @ Cantina Bentivoglio, Bologna, Italy. Summer 2015

(Reviews/photo of Sheila Jordan by JC)
Scanning the internet for possible jazz gigs prior to a trip to Italy last summer I was impressed by the range and variety of concerts on offer but unfortunately either the date or location meant they were not accessible. However, on closer examination, the gig listings of a jazz club in Bologna mentioned a concert by veteran American singer Sheila Jordan on a date that could work (if you ignored the 100 km diversion and over-night stay).  At that time I knew very little about her except that I remembered Zoe Gilby mentioning once or twice during gigs with her husband Andy Champion that Jordan had been an important inspiration in encouraging them to perform as a vocal/bass duo and that she was a pioneer of this format. As a fan of the Gilby/Champion performances, I felt this gig was worth making an effort to get to.
Fortunately, the Cantina Bentivoglio in Bologna turned out to be the business. It had the look of an Italian, pre-makeover Ronnie's - low ceilings, crowded and atmospheric with tables right up to the stage - with the same delightfully chaotic meal service. However, unlike Ronnie's in those days, the food was delicious.
The loquacious MC/owner was certainly passionate, as he spoke with great enthusiasm during his 20-minute introduction to the main act. Not understanding Italian, I presumed it was mainly about jazz but I thought I heard mention of Marx and Gramsci as well as Charlie Parker and Jordan.
Anyway, Sheila Jordan was a revelation. She had a band made up of her own American drummer and two excellent Italian musicians on trumpet and bass. Her opening piece was a five-minute introduction of the band members in vocalese, outlining their singular abilities in great detail, as well as including an announcement that she was 86 and a half - wow!
She had great stamina for a youngster and for the next two hours she sang and swang, scatted and vocalised songs and stories in a brilliant fashion. Many of the stories were about Charlie Parker, whose music entranced her as a teenager, and she described as a 14-year old trying to sneak into the club he was playing in wearing her mother's hat as a disguise, only to be quickly thrown out. But then Bird would come to the door and play a solo for her.
All the musicians were great but she did do a couple of duets with the bass player and the highlight of the night was a ten-minute duo version of 'Chasing the Bird' (which Parker is rumoured to have written for her) where she used all her vocal abilities and scatted and vocalised a succession of rip roaring solos. Amazing.
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This experience made me appreciate even more the great jazz there is on offer locally and the fact that there is a top quality vocal and double bass combination on the doorstep. A brief look through BSH's archives revealed that Zoe Gilby and Andy Champion have been performing in this format since 2009 so that now it is (one example) of their finely honed and highly creative musical talents. I arrived at the Jazz Cafe as Gilby was in full scat attack on Monk's Well, You Needn't . Next was one of my favourite songs, Joni Mitchell's beautiful lyrics combined with Mingus's tune and improvisations on Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. The clarity of Gilby's singing of the lyrics with the complex musical line was outstanding and even though I've listened to this track many times there were a couple of lines I didn't recognise, 'Were these in the original lyrics?' I thought to myself and a quick iPhone check revealed that (of course) they were. I just hadn't been listening properly before. The set continued with the spooky Red Right Hand by Nick Cave, their classic take on Pink Floyd's Money and Kate Bush's Kashka From Baghdad where Gilby did an interesting kind of sound box thing with the mike behind her hands.  All through Andy Champion was in sublime form demonstrating his imperious mastery of the double bass.
At the interval a lively crowd arrived in the Cafe, happily not the usual Friday night 'rowdies', but a group of mainly Parisien jazzers who were playing in the Paris-sur-Tyne festival the following day. This inspired the duo to even greater heights (not surprising given that now at least three of the Miles Davis Quintet were present and also possibly Garibaldi). They ripped into another Mitchell piece from her Mingus album The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines at breakneck speed but again with crystal clear lyrics. Then a trip to Graceland, Monk's Rhythm a Ning, followed by a subtly suggestive song found on a social media site called Halfway to Heaven which Gilby said could be about many different things - but isn't. (A bit like saying Kate Bush's Warm Room could be about DIY central heating).
Also a beautiful ballad, which might have been A Weaver of Dreams, and if so, it would have been a nice link to the set list of the 2009 performance. So seven years as a vocal/bass duo - just a few more to match Jordan's longevity. In the mean time, it's a duo combination not to be missed.
The large and attentive audience were highly appreciative of the duo's terrific performance and the international visitors demonstrated their enthusiasm with much applause and (metaphorically speaking) ringing bells, setting off kitchen timers and banging saucepan lids on tables. It was another great night at the Jazz Cafe.
JC.

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