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Bebop Spoken There

Béla Fleck: “ And that's the great thing about live performances, you take people on a journey. It doesn't have to be like something else they've heard. It's not supposed to be". DownBeat, April, 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

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm.
Thu 28: Richard Herdman Quartet @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm. Guests: Josh Bentham (alto sax); Alan Marshall (tenor sax); Neil Brodie (trumpet); Adrian Beadnell (bass); Graham Thompson (keys); Steve Hunter (drums).

Fri 29: FILM: Soul @ The Forum Cinema, Hexham. 12:30pm. Jazz-themed film animation.
Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free. POSTPONED!
Fri 29: Thundercat @ Newcastle City Hall.
Fri 29: John Logan @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 30: Papa G’s Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Sat 30: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Whitley Bay Library, York Road, Whitley Bay. 8:00pm.

Sun 31: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 31: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, Union Quay, North Shields NE30 1HJ. 3:00pm. Free. Lambert, Alan Law & Paul Grainger.
Sun 31: Sid Jacobs & Tom Remon @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. USA/London jazz guitar duo.
Sun 31: Bellavana @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

April
Mon 01: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 01: Ray Stubbs R&B All Stars @ Billy Bootlegger’s, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.

Tue 02: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Dean Stockdale, Paul Grainger, Abbie Finn.

Wed 03: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 03: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 03: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. 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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