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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.

Thursday, November 24, 2016

EFG London Jazz Festival 2016.

(Press Release)
Over 2000 artists played 300 gigs and concerts to packed houses in more than 50 venues, from clubs to concert halls, in every corner of the capital.  
We saw dramatic new commissions, breath-taking re-imaginations, and exquisite musicianship of all kinds, edge-of-the-seat solos and plenty more besides.  
There were free performances enjoyed by thousands, concerts and workshops specifically for children and young people, and a fantastic mass-participation premiere with participants from ages 12 to 81. 
This was the 2016 EFG London Jazz Festival.

HIGHLIGHTS
Very hard to pick just a few from such an array of amazing concerts but these included…

Jazz Voice – the opening gala moved to the Royal Festival Hall in this, its ninth year, and promptly sold it out. The first of the EFG Excellence Series, this glittering show saw dazzling performances from Kandace Springs and Jacob Collier, who each played further shows in the Festival, as well as MOBO-winner Lady Leshurr, all compered with great gusto by Jay Rayner.

Miguel Atwood Ferguson – Suite for Ma Dukes - the European premiere of a far-reaching and intensely personal project paying tribute to the work of the late hip hop producer and beatmaker J Dilla. Miguel Atwood Ferguson pulled together an ensemble of UK musicians for ‘a sonic collage that took the music through unexpected twists and turns’ (thisisjazzstandard.com), which was passionately received by the sold-out crowd.

Robert Glasper Experiment – the pioneering US pianist, who refuses to be genre-defined, played two consecutive sold-out nights at Camden’s iconic KOKO and was joined onstage by guests including Lianne La Havas and Omar. ‘There is tremendous punch and urgency in the outstanding musicianship’ (Gigwise)

Norma Winstone - the stars came out to help Norma celebrate her 75th birthday. Accompanied by the ECM Trio and the Royal Academy of Music, the Cadogan Hall audience were treated to ‘a spectacular celebration of a world class musician’ (LondonJazzNews). We also saw significant milestones celebrated for two other leading British jazz musicians, with Tim Garland’s toasting his half-century with a Wigmore Hall concert that was ‘a highpoint of his stellar career’ (Jazzwise), and a rare solo piano recital from Mike Westbrook marking his 80th birthday.

Jason Moran – the keyboard maestro’s UK premiere of a commission from Wroclaw, the European City of culture’s Jazztopad festival – where the piece had first been performed the preceding evening – and the Polish Cultural Institute in London. 
‘An impressive response, and a rich reward for all the work that goes into arranging such international presentations – this one was three years in the making. Not your regular jazz gig: and that’s one of the things festivals are for.’ (LondonJazzNews)

Jan Garbarek with Trilok Gurtu – playing to a crammed Royal Festival Hall; the master saxophonist was accompanied by the wonderful percussionist, who was even playing a steel bucket at one point.
‘Garbarek is as close to perfection as it’s humanly possible to achieve’ (LondonJazzNews)

Donny McCaslin – the stellar quartet who were David Bowie's Blackstar band, led by McCaslin’s fiery saxophone, roaring through an emotional set, ‘whipping up an electrical storm of beats and spaced-out synths’. (Jazzwise)

Make it/Break it – our ambitious new mass participation work saw nearly 100 amateur musicians from the ages of 12 through to 81, under the direction of Chris Sharkey, rehearse for a full day ahead of a one-off performance to a packed Clore Ballroom at Royal Festival Hall – the culmination of many months’ work, since the project’s debut at Sage Gateshead in April.
TAKING THE FESTIVAL ON THE ROAD
For the second year, we brought the Festival to outer-London boroughs; bringing free music and events from international stars and local artists to celebrate the high streets in Kingston, Twickenham, South NorwoodWoolwichLeytonIlford and Tooting. We’ve seen over 100 free events featuring artists including Adam Ben Ezra, Perhaps Contraption, Allan Harris and Randolph Matthews. 
We also saw artists touring the UK off the back of their Festival shows - including Robert Glasper Experiment to Gateshead, Hull, Bristol, Manchester and Birmingham. Anthony de Mare’s intriguing Re-Imagining Sondheim visited Southampton and Manchester, Madeleine Peyroux took in Saffron Walden and Birmingham, and we saw MOBO award-winners Binker & Moses opening for The Bad Plus in Leeds, Bristol and Gateshead.

OUR DIGITAL REACH
We are proud that the Festival was once again the host for the ambitious and ground-breaking BBC Music Jazz pop-up station, working in collaboration with a vast array of BBC radio stations in partnership with Jazz FM. The success of last year’s station meant that this year the broadcast output doubled to 96 hours, featuring live content from the Festival alongside other highlights. Listen to it all on the BBC iPlayer here.

#JAZZLIFE
Following the success of the previous two years, we have again featured a hashtag as the centre of the Festival’s marketing campaign this year, and - at time of writing - have seen this reach over 14,000,000 people, and hashtag impressions of an astounding 72,054,050– that's over 70 million!  Whoever said jazz was an ever-decreasing audience – you were wrong!

2017

Next year’s Festival will be a very special one – it’s our 25th birthday; we run from Friday 10 – Sunday 19 November 2017. Do join our e-list, or check out efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk for updates through the year.

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