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Bebop Spoken There

Abbie Finn: "Even though there's a lot of great work being done to promote women in jazz, I still come up against some attitudes! I pulled up at a recording session with my drums in the car and the studio owner said, 'I'm sorry, this space is reserved for the drummer!'" - (Jazzwise April 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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 26: Outlines @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. JNE promotion (upstairs).

Mon 27: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Tue 28: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 28: Sanaz Lavasani Trio @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 8:00pm. £12.00 (£10.00. adv).

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 30: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library. 2:30-4:30pm. £2.00. All welcome.
Thu 30: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. Back to 1:00pm stomp off. Free.
Thu 30: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 30: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm.
Thu 30: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Monday, April 03, 2017

GIJF Day 3: Sulzmann/Iles Duo & Trish Clowes 'My Iris' Quartet - Sage Gateshead - April 2

Stan Sulzmann (tenor); Nikki Iles (piano).
(Review by Lance/Photos courtesy of Russell).
Some, but not all, of the material was from the duo's 2014 album Stardust and, like the album, made for a pleasurable listening experience albeit not an earth-moving one.
The musicianship was faultless. How could it not be with two such seasoned professionals?
Polished and polite - what else could you expect from a duo playing indoors on a sunny Sunday afternoon? Binker and Moses they weren't and I'm sure they'd probably never want to be either but I did miss bass and drums. Perhaps if the tenor had been miked up a bit more or it had been a late evening session in more intimate surrounds, who knows?
Nevertheless, and whilst it didn't totally float my boat, it didn't sink it either!
During the interval, holding a referendum with other members of the Jazz Constabulary, it came across as a 50/50 hung jury. Such is the appeal of jazz and music in general - it's in the ear of the beholder. 

Trish Clowes (tenor/soprano); Ross Stanley (Hammond/piano); Chris Montague (guitar); John Blease (drums).
The set that followed by the Trish Clowes 'My Iris' Quartet was very much an up-front in your face contrast to what had preceded. After a seemingly interminable, long sustained notes introduction on soprano, Clowes finally hit the deck and she was going for gold - the soprano was on fire and any snakes she may have charmed were burned alive. Switching to tenor, Professor Clowes - yes the gal is a Professor of Jazz and Improvisation at the Guildhall, like our policemen, our professors are getting younger - blew the cobwebs away. I wonder, was Binker ever one of her students? Electronic effects were used sparingly and didn't detract too much from the music.
On guitar, Gateshead lad Chris Montague returned to his hometown and showed them how it's done whilst, dep drummer John Blease sailed miraculously through the charts.
Ross Stanley is no stranger to the northeast and it's a rare travelling band that doesn't include Ross in the lineup. Tonight he switched from Hammond to Steinway and back again. Trish introduced one of the more balladic numbers as a chance to hear Ross on the Steinway and, to quote, he did treat it in a fine way!
All of the compositions, I think, were from Ms. Clowes current album - My Iris, reviewed by Russell back in January.
Lance.

2 comments :

Unknown said...

I must take issue with your review. It's Stan Sulzman not Steve and the concert was on Sunday afternoon not Saturday. Polite yes but what a rare pleasure to hear unamplified tenor sax. With amplification you lose much of the breathiness and richness of the sound. Let's have more acoustic instrumental performances.

Lance said...

Hi Robert, yes Stan it is as I've been reminded on an hourly basis! As a fan of Stan's for many years I can only claim a 'senior moment' for this error. Likewise the Saturday in the text as opposed to the correct date in the heading. But, thanks Robert for correcting me. I need readers like yourself to keep me up to speed. As regards the actual gig, I stand by my measured enthusiasm. Changing the subject, a lot of emerging talent at the Caff tonight!

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