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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.

Friday, April 07, 2017

GIJF Day 3:: Jazz Africa/Jazz Cuba @ Sage Gateshead , April 2.

(Review by Steve T)
It's always nice to do at least one gig in Sage One, over the weekend, to see those who maybe only do one show,  but make the whole thing happen. Otherwise you feel insular, like the only people there are the familiar faces in the small rooms, at the concourse and the stands. 
This was the other no-brainer, along with Miles Mosley, until number one son introduced some brains suggesting we should be in Hall Two, and then Lance (who tends to know what he's doing in these matters) confirmed he was in Northern Rock. Sounds like a resounding finale for the Festival.
By Sunday evening, anybody still wondering whether they'd had a festival was left in no doubt by the end of this; this was almost a festival on its own. 
Lots to get through so Shabaka Hutchings was already onstage when I got in, complete with his Ancestors.  
Drums and percussion, rock solid and relentless, as always in these groups, brilliant sax from both tenor and alto, bass and a Hoodoo type Man, presumably Shabaka, dressed all in black, hat rim casting a shadow over his face, prowling the stage preaching, hollering and occasionally singing.
Short break before the Alfredo Rodriquez Trio took to the stage, the bandleader hitting it running, leaving no doubt he's a world class pianist. Afterwards I found myself stood with two Jambone/Early Birds keyboardists and asked whether they were going home to practice or put their instruments on ebay.
 The bass player was more enigmatic, in a splendid frock, large earrings and what looked (to someone of my age and background) like a type of hairnet. It was only when he came out of the shadows he revealed a full beard; the kind of look the media keep telling us wouldn't have been possible without Bowie. He could play too, taking the lead part on occasion - Steve Howe like - with a fixed, standalone member of the guitar family. As you'd expect, the drummer was safe too. One of the stage hands made himself the second least popular person in the building telling him to cut the set (or slit his throat). To the delight of the audience, he ignored him and played one more anyway.

Last up was Richard Bona, or as he liked to say - Michael Jackson, with his Mandekan Cubano. Another musician who could have been a stand-up comic, he had the audience laughing in the aisles. His singing was quite low-key until it required some passion when a soulful quality emerged, but was at its best in the African style of Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita or Papa Wemba, particularly when acapella.
The band, or as he called them, the Cubans - who know how to take breaks, he told us, as they left the stage to take one - were hot, once again rock-solid percussion, piano and just two horns, doubling up on backing vocals Buena Vista Social Club style. His bass playing was restrained but with enough hints he could really go when required.
By the end we were all up 'dancing' in the aisles, at our seats, where we stood, bringing the whole thing to a glorious close. A triumph I heard somebody say to Ros Rigby as we filed out, and who knows whether he meant the gig, the night, the day or the festival, but I wasn't about to argue one way or another.
Steve T.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Shabaka is, quite notably, a Saxophonist.

Unknown said...

Actually, Shabaka is the tenor player.

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