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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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

June

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.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

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).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Monday, April 03, 2017

GIJF Day 2: Double Bill: GoGo Penguin; Shobaleader @ Sage Gateshead – April 1

GoGo Penguin
Nick Blacka (double bass); Chris Illingworth (piano); Rob Turner (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex)
This talented hard-working band were a sheer joy to hear. Their stated aim is to produce music which has an electronic sound, but on acoustic instruments. They had elements in common with 1970’s prog rock, but enough jazz-like aspects to be labelled ‘Jazz’. The bass produced deep beats and real tunes; the piano was skilled, occasionally played by manipulating the strings manually; the drummer was a full, energetic part of the band. The audience applauded with genuine enthusiasm; the lower level of Hall 1 was full. I wasn’t surprised to read that the band had been nominated for the Mercury Prize.
Full flowing melodies, sounds from computer games, strong beats, riff-based tunes tumbled out. Most of the music was taken from their third album, Man Made Object (with Blue Note Records).
Tracks with titles such as All Res; Initiate, Branches Break, Protest. Branches Break gave us some delightful ‘chuff, chuff’ sounding percussion, and Protest sounded like the title, the piano playing a flowing tune perhaps representing ‘good’ against the rest of the band roaring out ‘evil’.
The band well deserved the standing ovation that they received from many in the audience.
After seeing Shobaleader (pictured) I think I need counselling. I’ve never seen anything quite like it on a stage. Imagine the set-up, a darkened stage with lots of black box amplification to the left and electronic equipment to the right. Enter four men (I think they were men, but they could have been robots) dressed as monks, who played guitars, drums and did the electronics. Then their faces became light motifs, squares, triangles, snout shapes and circles, in a regular sequence of green, yellow, blue, red.
I wanted to laugh as one of the shapes was a wide sort of smile. Was this comedy? It certainly wasn’t
Jazz. Yet it was intriguing and I couldn’t stop watching.
The music was electronic, loud, beaty, often very tuneful, lots of riffs repeated. The face lights varied, sometimes multicoloured patterns, sometimes circles spinning round the heads. The sudden changes in patterns were amusing, and other people around me also found them humorous. The light show became wilder, flashing white lights, lots of dry ice. It was all too much for some of the audience as about 20 or so people left. There’s a photo of the band in action on the front of the Sage brochure covering March and April.
No words were spoken or sung during the performance, so I consulted the band’s website, which declares that the personnel go under the names of Strobe Hazard; Squarepusher; Company Laser  and Arg Nution. I tried to read an interview that the band gave, which made no sense at all, nor, I suspect, was it meant to. I must say that this band portrays the opposite of individualism, as we are no wiser about who they are. As I say, I was intrigued and rather enjoyed myself in an odd way, but I wouldn’t want to see them again. But they must have some lasting appeal to some audiences.
Were they dressed as monks because, I’m told, that Medieval cathedrals were actually massive light shows, because of the painted walls and light coming in through the stained glass windows? Just an interesting thought that I had on the metro, going home.
Ann Alex

1 comment :

Lance said...

You can fool some of the people etc. particularly on April 1...

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