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Bebop Spoken There

Kurt Elling: ''There's something to learn from every musician you play with''. (DownBeat, December 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

17586 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 860 of them this year alone and, so far, 5 this month (Dec. 2).

From This Moment On ...

December

Wed 11: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 11: Cath Stephens’ improvisation workshop @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 4:30-6:00pm. Collaborative group focusing on vocal improvisations.
Wed 11: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 11: The Tannery Jam Session @ The Tannery, Gilesgate, Hexham. 7:00-9:00pm. Free. Second Wednesday in the month.
Wed 11: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 12: Vieux Carré Hot 4 @ Spanish City, Whitley Bay. 12 noon. £27.00. (inc. three -course meal).
Thu 12: Jason Isaacs @ St. James’ STACK, Newcastle. 5:00-6:45pm. Free. Vocalist Isaacs working with backing tapes.
Thu 12: Stuart Turner @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 12: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesborough. 8:30pm. Free. Guests: Jeremy McMurray (keys); Mark Toomey (alto sax); Donna Hewitt (tenor sax); Kevin Eland (trumpet); Ron Smith (bass).

Fri 13: Dean Stockdale Trio @ Auckland Castle, Bishop Auckland. 1:00pm. £8.00.
Fri 13: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 13: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 3:00-5:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Joe Steels Trio @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free.
Fri 13: Customs House Big Band @ Stocksfield Community Association. 7:00pm. Featuring Ruth Lambert.
Fri 13: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ St Cuthbert’s Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00.
Fri 13: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. First night of two.
Fri 13: Ransom Van @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Fri 13: Boys of Brass @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 9:00pm. £10.00.

Sat 14: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:15pm. Free but ticketed.
Sat 14: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm.
Sat 14: Red Kites Jazz @ Staiths Café, Autumn Dr., Gateshead. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14 Lapwing Jazz Trio @ Three Sheets to the Wind, Alnwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 14: Strictly Smokin’ Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £19.00. + bf. Second night of two.
Sat 14: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 15: Musicians Unlimited @ Jackson’s Wharf, Hartlepool. 12 noon. £8.50. Xmas party feat. Musicians Unlimited + Customs House Big Band. SOLD OUT!
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm.
Sun 15: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Mitch Laddie Band @ Tyne Bar, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Superb blues power trio.
Sun 15: Leeway @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sun 15: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Ale House, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 15: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sun 15: Alligator Gumbo @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 16: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 16: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Wheatsheaf, Benton Sq., Whitley Road, Palmersville NE12 9SU. Tel: 0191 266 8137. 12 noon. £9.95. ‘Festive Turkey Dinner’. Book now: 0191 266 8137.
Mon 16: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.

Tue 17: Paul Edis & Friends: A Jazzy Xmas @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm.
Tue 17: BBC Big Band @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 7:30pm. ‘A Swinging Xmas’.
Tue 17: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Alan Law, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.
Tue 17: Bellavana @ Revoluçion de Cuba, Newcastle. 7:45-9:35pm. Free.

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Thinking about Gabi & Steve @ Sage Gateshead - March 17

Gabriele Heller (vocals, electronics) & Steve Glendinning (guitar)
(Review by Russell)
The Gold Dust ticket clearly stated: Please arrive 10 minutes beforehand, otherwise you may lose your place. The queue outside the Northern Rock Foundation Hall snaked past the East Door of Sage Two stretching to the (closed) balcony bar. This, twenty minutes before the advertised start time. Clipboard types strolled hither and thither, headsets and Access All Areas tags denoting their status…these were BBC Radio 3 people.
The queue comprised M & S and Waitrose types, Radio 3 their choice of listening, early morning through to late at night. They were here at Sage Gateshead to do some thinking, free thinking. Radio 3 people continued to stroll; clipboards, headsets, AAA tags, bottled water. A senior BBC type walked purposefully towards an AAA behind-the-scenes door, produced a swipe card (confirmation of big cheese status) and disappeared beyond. Bang on ‘start time’ a junior BBC/Sage person wandered along the snaking queue checking for Gold Dust. A BBC type (headset etc) breezed up the stairs from concourse to AAA door, a party of thirteen keen sixth form types following close behind, disappearing beyond the AAA door. Later, the BBC type emerged from beyond, dutiful sixth form ducklings, with munch-on-the-go sandwiches, skipping along to keep up with the Radio 3 Head Duck.
Ten minutes after the advertised ‘start time’, the Northern Rock Foundation Hall’s doors opened. The M & S/Waitrose queue was on the move. A Free Thinking thinker – tweedy jacket and satchel – sauntered past, no doubt looking for a quiet spot to do some thinking. The Gold Dust seats were claimed, the stage stretching from a Steinway on the left to the presenter’s seat away to the right. Minutes before start of the live broadcast of In Tune at Free Thinking presenter Suzy Klein spoke to the M & S/Waitrose assembly: In a moment I will be speaking in my Radio 3 voice. A moment later (live on air) you couldn’t spot the difference…Radio 3 on and off air.

Lars Vogt – leader of the house band, the Royal Northern Sinfonia – sat at the Steinway, chatted to Suzy, played some Beethoven and would later be joined by some of the RNS’s wind players. Antiphon – the Tyne Valley’s Renaissance choir – sang, pianola specialist Rex Lawson, sporting ZZ Top beard, spoke to Suzy and played some tunes, the Waitrose  types craning necks to see what was going on at Lawson’s fingertips and feet. A talking head or two spoke to Suzy, making people think, for free. Radio 3 clipboards ushered the performers on and off stage, taking a break for an on-the-hour news bulletin (the headline item of a former Chancellor of the Exchequer taking up the post of editor of a newspaper met with scarcely suppressed hoots of derision), then, the jazz element emerged from an AAA door, chatted to Suzy, then played some jazz. Welcome Diachronicx. The Gabriele Heller/Steve Glendinning duo is a fixture on the Tyneside jazz scene – Gabi, vocals and a computer-generated soundscape, Steve, the accomplished guitarist. Seated, appearing to be relaxed (hearts beating fast, no doubt), Gabi and Steve acquitted themselves well. How their performance registered in Radio 3 Waitrose homes is for others to judge. Suzy Klein thanked Sage Gateshead’s Free Thinking audience then returned the listener to the studio for the final edition of this week’s Composer of the Week programmes (focusing on Peter Maxwell Davies). Broadcast done, the audience huddled around Rex Lawson’s pianola (see photo). Mr Lawson graciously answered questions about his pride and joy. Lars Vogt made his way over to Sage One to prepare for a concert performance with the RNS of Beethoven, Haydn and Prokofiev to be broadcast live on Radio 3. More Free Thinking to come this weekend including a live broadcast of Jazz Record Requests (Saturday, Radio 3, 4:00pm) presented by Alyn Shipton featuring a live performance by pianist Paul Edis. 
Russell.                                                 


3 comments :

Steve T said...

About thirty years ago, Different struck up a conversation with me on a coach coming back from London. I know he was called Different cos he kept saying 'I'm Different'.
He'd been to Knebworth which was the nearest equivalent to Glastonbury at the time and, no disrespect to Cliff and his fans, but he felt he was out of place amongst the gods of rock Clapton, Phil Collins and Paul McCartney. No disrespect to Sir Eric, Phil and Sir Paul but, excepting the late sixties, early seventies and about four minutes in 1966 respectively, I felt Sir Cliff was in precisely the correct company.
When he asked why I'd been to London I told him I'd been to see the Ojays, who he'd never heard of, despite four of five sizeable UK hits in the preceding decade and a half. A soul group I advised him. Phil Collins did some soul he said no he didn't I didn't waste my time.
He told me his name again and I often wonder if he ever spotted any irony, or whether he shops at M and S or Waitrose.

Hugh said...

Nothing wrong with shopping at M & S or Waitrose. Nothing wrong with being a Radio 3 listener. I agree with Russell that there may be a big overlap (think Venn diagrams) between these three groups - and told Russell so in person yesterday. I think you may also find that the average punter attending jazz gigs in the UK will fit into at least one of the circles in this triumvirate of associations!

Steve T said...

I wish I could afford to shop at M+S, Whenever I'm in the Toon I always get some caviar from Waitrose, but only the cheap stuff. I'm afraid my default in the car is Radio 2 but with dozens, probably now hundreds of CDs unplayed, I never listen for long.
I do think there's a certain irony in the BBC, the most powerful Ideological State Apparatus in the Land, who spend millions of our money telling us what to think, within narrow parameters with a tiny bit of hegemony, put on an event about free thinking.
However, anything that invokes discussion must be a good thing.

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