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Bebop Spoken There

Spasmo Brown: “Jazz is an ice cream sandwich! It's the Fourth of July! It's a girl with a waterbed!”. (Syncopated Times, July, 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

17421 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 695 of them this year alone and, so far, 100 this month (Sept. 30).

From This Moment On ...

October

Thu 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 03: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Practices of Freedom workshop @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Book at: www.eventbrite.com.
Thu 03: Alcyona Mick + Juliana Day @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.00. & £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM (Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music) in assoc. w. Northern Silents & JNE.
Thu 03: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. Ragtime piano. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 03: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Guest band night w. '58 Jazz Collective led by trumpeter Kevin Eland with Paul Donnelly (guitar); Donna Hewitt (saxes); Dave Archbold (keys); John Daniel (bass); Alex Cromarty (drums); Darren Moore (percussion) + JAN SPENCELAYH!. Free.

Fri 04: Satoko Fujii @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. £8.00. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 04: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 04: Amirtha Kidambi w. Manon McCoy @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 6:20pm. £8.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. Gem Arts, JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Ziv Taubenfeld/Olie Brice/Kresten Osgood + Andy Champion + Izumi Kimura & Gerry
Hemingway @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Fri 04: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: As I Sing & Breathe @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. ‘Songs & Improvisations’ - Nicols, Dalling & guests.
Fri 04: Jeremy McMurray & the Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 04: John Rowland Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 05: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Musical Boxing Training @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 2:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. ‘A workshop for musical improvisers’. An event in a boxing ring!
Sat 05: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Wylam Village Institute, Church Road, Wylam NE41 8AP. Doors 7:00pm. Tickets £15.00. + £1.50. bf, available from: www.gigantic.com.
Sat 05: Joseph Carville Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Bright Street Big Band @ Washington Arts Centre. From 7:00pm. £12.00. Bright Street Big Band on stage at 7:30pm, preceded at 7:00pm by a swing dance taster session.
Sat 05: J.A.M. String Collective + Tara Cunningham + The Flame @ The Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 7:20pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & Lit & Phil.
Sat 05: Heavy Drunk @ Anarchy Brewery, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £15.00. + £1.50. bf. ‘Mississippi Delta Blues Experience’ feat. Heavy Drunk, Watermelon Slim & Leonardo Giuliani.
Sat 05: Maggie Nicols & Tim Dalling: Musical Boxing Night @ The Tute, Ridley Terrace, Cambois NE24 1QS. 7:30pm. Free. Tickets: www.eventbrite.com. Nicols, Dalling ao. An event in a boxing ring!
Sat 05: Milne-Glendinning Band @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Sat 05: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 05: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Swarland Village Hall NE65 9JG. 8:00pm. £12.00.

Sun 06: Smokin’ Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm (12:30pm doors). £7.50.
Sun 06: Luis Verde Quartet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 06: Sax Choir @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 06: Catriona Bourne Quartet + Heather Ferrier + Emma Johson’s Gravy Boat @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. £10.00. + bf. NFOJIM in assoc. w. JNE & The Globe.

Mon 07: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 07: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30-8:30pm. Free.

Tue 08: ???

Wed 09: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free. Wed 09: Jason Isaacs @ St James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-7:00pm. Free.
Wed 09: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 09: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 09: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. A ‘second Wednesday in the month’ jam session.
Wed 09: Shunya, Dudù Kouate & Seb Rochford @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). £21.00.

Thu 10: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 10: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Brunswick Methodist Church, Newcastle NE1 7BJ. 2:00pm. £4.00. ‘Collaborations - it happened all the time’.
Thu 10: Indigo Jazz Voices w. the Little Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:45pm. £5.00.
Thu 10: Side Cafe Orkestar @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 10: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. With guests Donna Hewitt (sax); Bill Watson (trumpet); Graham Thompson (keys); Ron Smith (bass). Free.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Lauren Kinsella Ensemble @ Black Swan Arts Centre, Newcastle – September 8

 Lauren Kinsella (voice); Tom Challenger (sax); Dan Nicholls (keyboards, electronics); Conor Chaplin (bass); Simon Roth (drums)
(Review/ Photos by Ken Drew).
A mid-week gig, part of Jazz North east’s ‘Women Make Music’ series.
Following a quiet intro from Challenger on piano, Kinsella begins to sing, reminding us instantly what we like about her voice and the instant stage presence she has. Then the full band join in to establish themselves, giving us time to contemplate just what is ahead.   A short piece, but welcome nonetheless.
Next a voice introduction (vocalese style) accompanied by Challenger’s sax – what a nice pairing that is, with a somewhat Nordic flavour to it with, dare I say it?, a hint of Bjork’s vocal tones, yet blissfully sublime. Then the full quartet join in with a gently lilting rhythm quietly supplied by Chaplin on bass together with Roth on drums, providing a simple yet lively rhythm giving way to a solo section from piano with the whole ensemble then completing the piece.  After just two pieces, we were all comfortable with the sound, and listening with relish for the next interpretation to unfold.

Then more vocalese - or rather scat singing interspersed with a sung rendition of what would otherwise be a spoken text. Kinsella noted that she had written the text for all these pieces, apart from the last in set 1 which were taken from David T(??) diaries.  Next up was a quick lyrical scat-plus-sung text with a rather bouncy rhythm. And to close, a piece with a quiet start building dynamically. A typical Kinsella composition and voicing / delivery with good contributions from the rest of the band.

The interval gave us time to reflect on Kinsella’s vocal ability. Purity, flexibility, accuracy and clarity. Plus pitch control - perfectly landing in the right place with a well-controlled glide-path.

Set 2 started with their take on Paul Motion’s Once Round the Park. Quite an extended piece nicely done in Kinsella’s style.
Then a vocal-plus-sax improv with scat, giving way to a sung text subtly accompanied by ‘noises off’ – Nicholls turning to his Laptop to provide a nicely subtle and gentle background ‘audio wash’ underneath the voice/sax pairing. The subject it seems was that of Kinsella at 8 years old !  The next piece started with another interesting rhythm, with a hint of a Tom Waites style (well, in my mind anyway !).  The sax was soft and lilting, reminiscent of Bobby Wellins’ sound in Tracey’s “Under Milk Wood”.  This then segued through a piano solo with nice use of the keyboard’s voicings, to another lilting vocal from Kinsella mixed with more vocalese/scat.

The final piece started with improv’d sax with piano together with gentle accompaniment from bass & drums, building more and more with stunning  vocals, then a fine sax solo followed by an equally superb piano solo.  An interesting piece with a good feel to it amounting to a 10 min encore of superb musical composition and ability.

And in conclusion - Kinsella noted that most of these pieces were a result of a commission by Marsden Jazz Festival. What a delight for us that it was re-staged for us in Newcastle.  Yet whilst the audience numbers were fewer than expected, the final comment from Lauren was reassuring, even uplifting ‘Newcastle listens to the music, giving a good vibe [to us] on the stage".

1 comment :

JC said...

What a sublime concert this was!
I had read very positive reviews of earlier gigs involving Lauren Kinsella (the emphasis is on the first syllable not the second) in Newcastle so I was keen to hear her and her band, and the fact she is from Dublin added extra interest. However I never expected the gig to be as good as it was.
The pure sound of Kinsella's voice and vocal embellishments, the quality of the band and the soundscapes that they created together were breathtaking.
She has worked in a number of duo formats so the ease with which she slipped into duets with particular instruments within an overall band piece was fascinating.
But it is the poetic quality of the lyrical improvisation that is most enthralling. Vocalising sounds and scatting demand considerable jazz singing abilities but to sing abstract poetic lines that 'fit' without sounding just random or meaningless is a special skill. Lauren Kinsella said a little about her composing inspirations during the gig mentioning the influence of David Henry Thoreau, Patti Smith and Simon Armitage and in other work she has also drawn from other poets like Ted Hughes and W.B. Yeats. However, it is something she said in an interview that is revealing of where her lyrical inspiration comes from: 'My Dad owns a bookshop (and) I worked in the second-hand department...you'd open a box of books and get to look at people's lives. I like improvising with poems because the nature of their structure lends itself to music. I look at some words or passages and it jumps back at me as sound'.
At times the overall effect of the words and music recalled the abstract and mysterious quality of Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill so I was intrigued that one piece was a Paul Motian tune that Kinsella had added lyrics to with the repeated incantation: 'Breathe like a tree. Sway sideways in motion'.
A special gig to remember.

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