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Bebop Spoken There

David Hadju: "It was kind of a lightning bolt [seeing a photo of a hi-fi store that's now occupied by a phone store]. Everyone had hi-fi systems, now everyone has a phone" - (DownBeat May 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

15478 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 499 of them this year alone and, so far, 120 this month (May 27).

From This Moment On ...

May 2023

Tue 30: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 30: Big Chris Barber Band @ Whitley Bay Playhouse. 7:30pm.

Wed 31: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 31: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 31: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 31: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

June
Thu 01: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 01: Thursday Night Prayer Meeting @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Donations.
Thu 01: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.
Thu 01: Jake Leg Jug Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.
Thu 01: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 02: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 02: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 02: Joseph Carville Trio @ Saltburn Community Hall. 7:30pm.
Fri 02: Claire Martin & Her Trio @ The Witham, Barnard Castle. 7:30pm. £25.00., £20.00. Feat. Jim Mullen, Alex Garnett & Jeremy Brown.
Fri 02: Guy Davis + Michael Littlefield & Scott Taylor @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. Doors 7:30pm. Blues double bill.
Fri 02: Anders Ingram @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Blind Pig Blues Club. Country blues. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sat 03: Newcastle Record Fair @ Northumbria University, Newcastle NE8 8SB. 10:00am-3:00pm. Admission: £2.00.
Sat 03: Pedigree Jazz Band @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 03: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Sue Ferris. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 03: Abbie Finn Trio @ The Vault, Darlington. 6:00pm. Free.
Sat 03: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00.
Sat 03: Papa G's Troves @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 04: Smokin' Spitfires @ The Cluny, Newcastle. 12:45pm.
Sun 04: Central Bar Quintet @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00-4:00pm. £5.00. The Central Bar Quintet plays Sonny Rollins' Saxophone Colossus. Featuring Lewis Watson.
Sun 04: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 04: Struggle Buggy + Michael Littlefield @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Acoustic blues.
Sun 04: Swinging at the Cotton Club: Harry Strutters' Hot Rhythm Orchestra @ The Fire Station, Sunderland. 7:30pm.
Sun 04: Richard Jones Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 05: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Monday, November 27, 2017

CD Review: Django Bates' Belovèd - The Study of Touch

Django Bates (piano); Peter Eldh (bass); Peter Bruun (drums).
ECM records are usually met with a reluctance by most of our reviewers. In general, the response  is one of apathy, Suddenly, they have a migraine, or their aunt has died, they're on holiday, they're working overtime, they've got to paint a fence - "Which fence?" "Any fence". And so it goes on, the upshot being that the output from ECM is very much an acquired taste.
On this occasion, it was down to me to bite the bullet and it actually turned out to be a very tasty bullet indeed.
Bullets fired by Django Bates usually are and this was no exception.

A piano trio it may be but this is far removed from lounge music. This is Bates at his reflective best. Exploring, finding so many options, Bill Evans, Bach, Jarrett, Chopin, Lennie all interwoven into a rich tapestry that emerges as totally his own. 
All compositions are by Django Bates apart from This World by Iain Bellamy and a blistering Passport by Charlie Parker. I recall Bates playing a concert as a member of this very same, excellent, trio at GIJF back in 2011 - My Belovèd Bird. The Bellamy piece was included at that concert and dedicated to the late Paul Gamblin, a northeast guitarist who went on to greater things and tragically died playing rugby.
The fact that the pianist is still playing it 6 years on speaks volumes for the esteem in which he still holds Paul.
We all do.
Lance.
PS: ECM - all is forgiven.

1 comment :

Unknown said...


I was late in discovering Django Bates - but what a revelation when I did !! Having previously seen and enjoyed EST and Tord Gustavsen (the similarities being they are all modern piano-based trios) I was bowled over by his and his trio's refreshingly modern (i.e. contemporary) and distinctive style.

I've seen him live in Gateshead, Wakefield and Huddersfield, and fully support your approval for his inclusion in ECM's burgeoning list of recorded artists. ECM by its very definition covers a range of contemporary music styles, centred on Jazz, world, and more recently, western classical music, so it's good to see another admirer in the fold! So, whilst you have admirably forgiven ECM, will they forgive those disbelievers for missing out on the joy they've brought over many years of music production of the highest quality ? ;)
Ken

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