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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

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

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); Paul Wight (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.

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

David Murray, Terri Lyne Carrington, Geri Allen @ Cadogan Hall, EFG London Jazz Festival - November 19 - 19th Nov.

David Murray (tenor, bass clarinet), Geri Allen (piano), Terri Lyne Carrington (drums).
(Review by Steve T)
This was the big Jazz night. Kandace was as much soul, Blood was as much funk and Billy Bell was all about the soul. The second Saturday promised two premier league female Jazz artists and a pair of tenor titans.
The last time I saw these two ladies they were with a third; one Esperanza Spalding who caused a veritable tsunami with a vocal performance fifty minutes in and turned up at Sage Gateshead with Jack Dejohnette and Joe Lovano a few months later.
This time out they were joined by saxophone colossus (is this title transferable?) David Murray.
The absence of bass is a central premise of the group, but a recent interview with Murray didn't really illuminate whether the three would fulfil the function on their respective instruments or whether the absence itself becomes a stylistic feature.
Most of the set was pulled from their recent album Perfectionand while it's a perfectly good album, the absence of bass, at best makes no difference and at worst, doesn't work. Indeed, the strongest track is Ornette’s Perfection where they're joined by other musicians, including Charnett Moffett on bass.
Murray was dominant from the off, encompassing the entire history of his instrument but remaining distinctly now: powerful, inventive, sensitive and soulful with flawless technique.
Terri Lyne Carrington didn't initially spread much TLC around her kit, proving herself a powerhouse player across her expansive setup, making her the heir to Billy Cobham, though she hasn't earned her second bass drum yet. However, as it went on, she revealed a lighter touch and a varied palette of percussion instruments during quieter moments.  
The bass was mostly missed when the piano was out, though Geri is a pianist who can and does play everything, and the rapport between the two ladies was evident. It may be contentious (moi?) to suggest the piano doesn't do it like a Hammond does.
Amongst the finer moments were the exchanges between sax and drums - Murray signalling Gerri when to drop out - but were enhanced exponentially by the jouissance accompanying the return of the piano.
Overall it was very free with abrupt endings, motifs unresolved and a general un-fulfilment of themes, accompanied by the inevitable early departures from the audience, though the majority seemed appreciative to be part of it.
Murray switched to bass clarinet, popping notes out on Father Peter O’brienthe most structured and traditional  of the set which Gerri Allen hoped would capture the joyfulness of the man she wrote it for. 
As great as Carrington is, we didn't need two drum solos but I'm knit-picking. A great performance from three premier practitioners of their generation on the cusp of becoming elder statespersons. It didn't particularly miss the bass but didn't benefit from its absence either.
Geri did most of the announcements with the others chipping in, the set featuring originals from each of them. It was recorded and will be on BBC radio on 28th.

Support came from Nerija, a seven piece, all-female band featuring guitar,bass, drums, bone, alto, tenor and trumpet. Jazz, hi-life and Afro-beat - add funk, reggae and soca/ calypso with some Spanish sounds. One to watch.
Steve T.

4 comments :

Anonymous said...

OMG!! The guitarist in Nérija is Shirley Tetteh. Nothing male about her! Despite the short hair and lack of make up. They are a seven piece female collective out of the well known educational set up of Tomorrows Warriors. Please amend pronto!

Lance said...

Amended pronto and with apologies. Our reviewer is on his way to Specsavers as we speak.

Anonymous said...

Great! Apology accepted.

Steve T said...

Specsavers don't do it for me anymore. I've been advised to go to proper opticians from now on and was there on Friday morning though the glasses haven't arrived yet.
I thought she was a bit good.
Apologies.

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