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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.

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.

Monday, September 25, 2017

Late Night Jazz – Hexham Abbey Festival of Music and Arts, September 23: The Nikki Iles/Stan Sulzmann Quartet.

Nikki Iles – piano; Stan Sulzmann  - Tenor Saxophone; Pete Turner – Bass; Luke Flowers - Drums
(Review by Hugh C/Photo courtesy of Stu Taylor of Credere Media).
It was with strains of Gabriel Fauré's  In Paradisum from the evening's performance of his Requiem by the Festival Chorus and Orchestra that I ascended from the Abbey itself via the Late Night Stairs to the Great Hall in an adjoining building.  Comfortable chairs were set out in neat rows with a few early bird punters already seated prior to the official opening time of 10pm.  Members of the festival chorus and orchestra, bow ties loosened or removed headed, justifiably, to the well-stocked bar.  The gig was scheduled for a 10.30 start.  In the absence of a convenient green room Nikki Iles and Stan Sulzmann were seated patiently to one side, adjacent to the piano, talking; Pete Turner was checking his bass and amplification system and Luke Flowers using the drum stool as a silent practise pad.
The Late Night Jazz session was something of a coup for Festival co-director Martin Hughes who had managed to persuade Nikki Iles that Hexham was only slightly further North than Scarborough where the Quartet had played a lunchtime gig that afternoon at the Jazz Festival.  The move was repaid with a near capacity crowd of approximately one hundred souls.  As is often the case in these circumstances the front row of seats on each side was empty and I was able to pick the best seat in the house.  This also meant I was in a position to have a brief word with Nikki and Stan before the gig.
At 10.30, as scheduled, the band took their places in the performance space (no stage) at the end of the hall.  A quality Kawai piano, lid raised, awaited Iles fingertips.  A microphone placed over the piano strings did not appear to be working – all the better, perhaps.  Apart from the bass mic, the band played completely unplugged and were richly rewarded by the resonant acoustic of the room.

The Quartet opened with Kenny Werner's Compensation.  Sulzmann's full tenor sound dominated initially followed by solos from Iles' piano and Turner's bass.  This sequence more or less set the pattern for the evening.  Come Rain or Come Shine followed, beautifully delivered by Sulzmann's mellow tenor.  Drummer Luke Flowers (depping for the advertised Dave Walsh, who was unable to make the gig due to ill health) was allowed off the leash during this number in short bursts, interspersed by melodic ensemble playing, a very effective form of drum solo, I find.  The announcements between tracks were shared between Stan Sulzmann and Nikki Iles.  It was now Nikki's turn to announce that the next number was from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess:  “My Man's Gone Now” drew an audible “ahhhh” from the audience – to which Sulzmann immediately quipped “Good riddance!”  Solo piano commenced the number with progressive addition of selected bass notes and a rhythmic tapping on the cymbal using the base of the brush handle and finally we were away with the quartet in full swing.

After a short interval allowing replenishment of glasses we were treated to Too Young to Go Steady - equally applicable to all members of the band, as Stan Sulzmann wryly observed.  During this piece we were treated to an exposition of New Orleans style, second line drumming.  This was followed by Nobody Else but Me, allegedly the last tune written by Jerome Kern.  A fine extended bass solo from Pete Turner during this piece.  We were now nearing the witching hour when the licence declared NO MUSIC!  There ensued some discussion as to what the quartet would finish with.  Body and Soul was suggested; a few valedictory words from Festival co-director, Martin Hughes thanked the band and the audience and then we were off into a rip-roaring Ladies in Mercedes (Steve Swallow)  - short solos all round, Sulzmann pointing at drummer, Luke Flowers to remind Nikki Iles to leave him a bit of space.  And then it was all over, a fantastic evening:  short, but very sweet – fine musicians, and such nice people too!
Hugh C.

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