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Bebop Spoken There

Art Blakey: "You [Bobby Watson] don't want to play too long, because you don't know they're clapping because they're glad you finished!" - (JazzTimes, Nov. 2019)..

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

15848 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 855 of them this year alone and, so far, 53 this month (Sept. 18).

From This Moment On ...

September

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 7:00pm.

Tue 26: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.

Wed 27: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 27: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 27: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 28: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 28: Alice Grace Quartet @ King's Hall, Newcastle University. 1:15pm. Free.
Thu 28: Gateshead Jazz Appreciation Society @ Gateshead Central Library, Gateshead. 2:30pm. All welcome.
Thu 28: Faye MacCalman + Snape/Sankey @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 28: Zoe Rahman @ Jesmond United Reformed Church, Jesmond, Newcastle. 7:30pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Thu 28: '58 Jazz Collective @ Hops & Cheese, Hartlepool. 7:30pm.
Thu 28: Speakeasy @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £15.00. A Southpaw Dance Company presentation. Dance, audio-visuals, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, swing dancers etc.
Thu 28: Mick Cantwell Band @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Ace blues band.
Thu 28: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 29: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 29: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 29: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.

Sat 30: John Pope Quintet + Late Girl + Shapeshifters @ Bobik's, Jesmond, Newcastle.
Sat 30: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

OCTOBER

Sun 01: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 01: Dulcie May Moreno sings Portrait of Sheila @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00. Moreno sings Sheila Jordan with Giles Strong, Mick Shoulder & John Bradford.
Sun 01: Middlesbrough Jazz & Blues Orchestra @ Saltburn Community Hall. 2:00pm.
Sun 01: The Easy Rollers @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £13.70., £11.55.
Sun 01: Brand/Roberts/Champion/Sanders @ Blank Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A Newcastle Festival of Jazz & Improvised Music event.
Sun 01: Papa G's Troves @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 02: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Mon 02: FILM: Wattstax; 50th Anniversary @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 8:00pm.

Sunday, May 07, 2017

Denys Baptiste's The Late Trane @ Pizza Express Stage, Cheltenham Jazz Festival - May 1

Denys Baptiste (sax), Nikki Yeoh (keyboards), Neil Charles (bass), Rod Youngs (drums), + Steve Williamson (sax). 
(Review by Steve T)
I'm not really a fan of late John Coltrane but, according to DSI Russell of the JP, not listening to it is, if not illegal then immoral, and I'm not one to fail to conform to the dominant belief systems of the day. I certainly consider it required listening but maybe only a couple of plays, which I suppose makes me a fan of sorts.
I should probably confess I'm not a great fan of early Trane either, but for a brief time after Giant Steps and before Love Supreme he made some of the greatest music the world has yet heard, which for me puts him second only to Miles in Jazz.
Furthermore, Baptiste is among the greatest saxophonists this country has ever produced and all of his previous albums are worth checking, particularly his debut, featuring a more uptempo version of Naima. 
A few years back he brought his Let Freedom Ring, commissioned by Cheltenham, to Sage Gateshead but it was poorly attended and this wasn't as well attended as it should have been either; which on both occasions, was their loss.
Introductions out of the way, Living Space opened things up, some echo on his sax, great building from piano and drums, a relentless bass behind until sax came back in blazing.
Dusk Dawn was followed by Ascent from Kulu se Mama, Charles playing bowed, but the sax sounded synthetic, though the electric piano followed by a Hammond sound worked for me, but the synthesizer didn't. I've heard Trane played on synthesizer before and that didn't work either.
Peace on Earth featured just sax and keys before the leader really nailed the Trane sax sound on After the Rain. 
He then invited Steve Williamson, who he described as a major influence, to join him for some tenor madness (my words, not his) on Transition followed by Vigil, some spacey sounds coming from Yeoh, who now seemed to be playing laptop as well, before a lengthy, hard-hitting solo from Baptiste, the effects now working for me, and providing great contrast with Williamson playing his equally fine solo straight. 
Baptiste came back in, the two playing in sync, then weaving in and out with some note perfect interaction bringing the set, and my Cheltenham ‘17 to a resounding close.
There's an album out in June (though I bought it at the festival) and this may be a more accessible way into this difficult, challenging music. This was easily the best of the six gigs I saw over two days at Cheltenham, and probably the only one which will feature in my gigs of the year. He's taking it on tour though sadly not to the North East, but like the albums it's based on, it's essential; sort of.
Steve T

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