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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Tue 03: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 03: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. House trio: Michael Young (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Steve White (drums).

Wed 04: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 04: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 04: Paul Skerritt @ Vespa Italian Bar & Steakhouse, Primrose Hill, Jarrow. From 7:00pm. To book a table - 0191 483 3355.
Wed 04: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 05: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 05: Sound the Trumpets @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 05: Hot Club du Nord @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.CANCELLED!
Thu 05: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Thu 05: Tommy Bentz Trio + Mark Croft Duo + George Shovlin & George Lamb @ The Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Harbour View Speakeasy's USA blues double bill + Shovlin & Lamb!
Thu 05: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 05: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

JNE/Splinter @ The Bridge, Newcastle. - MoHaWi/Square One Quartet

MoHaWi
Graham Hardy (trumpet & flugelhorn); Mark Williams (guitar); Russ Morgan (drums)
(Review photos courtesy of Ken Drew)
This first outing for a new trio pulled together for Splinter by Graham Hardy.
First tune, settling quickly into a gentle rhythmic groove with subtle electronic treatments to Graham’s trumpet, reminiscent of Ingrid Jensen’s sound at her recent JNE gig.  A good workout for the trio to establish their space. A good number to open with – despite the slow fade and long pause (false ending) before launching back into the main theme at full pace. 
Watch Your Step then segued into Moonless Views - a dreamlike sequence, again with tinges of Ingrid Jensen’s trumpet playing of a few weeks ago. Very restful, segueing in to something more expressive and dynamic but flowing nicely, carrying the audience along. Then into a gentle guitar solo from Mark with subtle accompaniment from Russ on drums. A nice contrast to the opener.   
On to a blues-based tune with each chasing each other, sneaking around the basic theme.  Recurring theme, but quite quirky with a fervent rhythm and some deft and skittish percussion by Russ. The sudden end took me by surprise!
Cities in the Night - a depiction of ships moored outside the Tyne piers in the dead of night. A seascape!  Introduction by wind noises from Graham’s trumpet are looped for the duration providing a nicely subtle background to the piece.   Near the end, Graham switches to electric bass to develop the feel and intensity of the tune.  This was quite a substantial and dynamic piece – quiet trumpet to start, louder rock-like guitar to end fading back to the dreamy lapping of the waves.  Cue rapturous applause!!  
SQUARE ONE QUARTET
Joe Williamson (guitar); Peter Johnstone (keyboards); David Bowden (bass); Stephen Henderson (drums)
Straight in to a driving yet interesting rhythm led by a guitar solo from Joe for Quicksand  [SH]  Nice theme set up and passed around the band, ending rather suddenly - a nice opener to establish everyone.  Then a segue into a much slower paced tune with a drifting feel which turned out to be just a massive slowing of pace which presumably depicted the final stages of quicksand? This concluded with a brief piano solo with hints of Messiaen through some complex but ever-so-subtle chord changes.  Initially (but only briefly) the band had hints of a modern Scandinavian piano-bass-drum trio but the addition of guitar along with their self-penned tunes gives it a markedly different feel.
12  [SH]  comprised a simple theme, passed around the members of the quartet now sounding well established as they worked together very enthusiastically with an energetic drum solo  at the end. The third tune, In Motion, was commissioned recently by Glasgow Jazz Festival so this was only its second time out!   Very dynamic with complex rhythms yet leaving plenty space for solo players.  Then Ending Song [DB] – a much slower pace with a longer bass solo. A nicely lyrical piece too.
The last tune  was Square One   Again sounding well established moving ultimately towards a big energetic crescendo. Wow ! What a piece to close with - it blew everyone away.
Overall, a great night, worthy of the Splinter spirit where new bands or new band mixes come along with fresh self-penned material. Well worth it.  More please !
Ken D.

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