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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Vasilis Xenopoulos with the Paul Edis Trio @ The Traveller’s Rest. October 21

Vasilis Xenopoulos (tenor saxophone), Paul Edis (keyboards), Ken Marley (double bass) & Russ Morgan (drums)
(Review by Russell/photo from archives).
8:00am Friday. Are you available for a gig tonight at the Traveller’s Rest, Darlington? Ken Marley answered in the affirmative. The former Voice of the North Jazz Orchestra double bass player made the journey across the Pennines at short notice to work with a regular visitor to Darlington, the one and only Vasilis Xenopoulos. It has been several years since bassist Marley featured in these BSH pages. It was, perhaps, a Voice of the North concert, or a memorable Marley septet gig at the Cluny in Newcastle. Whenever, wherever, it was way back when.
Tenor saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos is a favourite at Opus 4 Jazz Club. This October date is a fixture in the calendar (he’ll be back next year!), attracting fans from Tyneside to the north and Yorkshire to the south. From the walls of the upstairs room hang large portraits of the jazz greats. Over Xenopoulos’ left shoulder Dexter Gordon looked down. Vasilis likes Dexter, Dexter would have loved to hear Vasilis play! Darlington’s regular crowd loves to hear Vasilis play. They were queuing on the stairs well ahead of time. A sense of anticipation hung in the air…
 Hank Mobley, then Dexter Gordon opened proceedings; This I Dig of You, Opus 4 Jazz Club digs Vasilis. The London-based tenor player is currently developing a suite – Exile. A recording/touring project for next year, Darlington got a sneak preview hearing Part II. Ken Marley, like the rest of us, hadn’t heard the music, but that didn’t stop him excelling, contributing one of several accomplished solos, an ace dep if ever there was one.

But Beautiful took it down, superb tenor playing, then the set closer, Four Brothers. The dynamism as thrilling as ever, a fabulous first set.

What of the second set? Fabulous, as simple as that. A Dexter Gordon arrangement of   Billy Eckstine, Lee Morgan’s Cesora and another Xenopoulos original composition The Courtyard just three of many highlights. What of Paul Edis and Russ Morgan? The best in the business, as simple as that. Edis’ solos were never less than top drawer with Vasilis listening intently, the tenor man similarly appreciating the ‘in the spotlight’ contributions of the depping  Marley and drummer Russ Morgan. Ornette Coleman concluded matters, not withstanding, a fully deserved encore.

Tomorrow (Sunday 23) at eight o’clock, Vasilis Xenopoulos returns to the Black Bull in Blaydon to do it all again. This annual Blaydon Jazz Club date will see Xenopoulos once again in the company of Edis and Morgan working with another depping bass player, the one and only Mick Shoulder. Admission on the door is £7.00.. Arrive early or you could find yourself standing at the bar (an appealing proposition, for some!). Lyrical, swinging tenor playing is your thing? The Black Bull (NE21 4JJ), eight o’clock, is the place to be.

Russell.                        

2 comments :

Patti D (on F/b) said...

Can't miss this one.

Anne DeVere (on f/b) said...

Sigh...

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