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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

15245 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 264 of them this year alone and, so far, 77 this month (March 25).

From This Moment On ...

March

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.
Mar 26: Pop Jazz @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. 'Jazzified' tunes by the likes of Sylvester, Bowie, the Monkees etc., feat. Alan Law, David Gray, Richard Herdman & Jude Murphy.
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.

Fri 31: Lewis Watson Quartet @ Bishop Auckland Town Hall. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 31: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 31: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 31: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. CANCELLED! Back next week (April 7).
Fri 31: Jasmine Myra + Waclaw Zimpel @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Fri 31: The Revolutionaires @ The Shack, Boldon Colliery. 7:30pm. £10.00. The Revolutionaires' big band (horn section) line-up.
Fri 31: Andrew McCormack @ Maltings, Berwick. 8:00pm. £20.00.

April
Sat 01: The Big Easy @ St Augustine's Parish Centre, Darlington. 12:30pm.
Sat 01: Play Jazz! workshop @ The Globe, Newcastle. 1:30pm. Tutor: Steve Glendinning - In a Minor Key. £25.00. Enrol at: www.jazz.coop.
Sat 01: Hot Club du Nord @ Pleased to Meet You, Bridge St., Morpeth. 8:00pm. £79.00. A charity fundraising event.
Sat 01: Boys of Brass @ Stack, Seaburn. 7:00-9:00pm.
Sat 01: Rendezvous Jazz @ Red Lion, Earsdon. 8:00pm. £3.00. RESCHEDULED to next week (Sat 08).

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

Lindsay Hannon Plus ‘Make Dark Heaven Light’ album launch @ The Lit &Phil October 28

Lindsay Hannon (vocals); Mark Williams (guitar); John Pope (bass); Russ Morgan (drums)
(Review by Steve H/Photos courtesy of Ken Drew) 
The Lit and Phil once again played host to a Lindsay Hannon Plus album launch. Personnel changes from the first album saw Russ Morgan on drums replace Tom Chapman whilst James Harrison was replaced by guitarist Mark Williams. The ever-present John Pope on double bass displayed his loyalty by sporting the same shade hair colour as the band leader.

A short set of old favourites: a couple of Joni Mitchell tunes (Hissing of Summer LawnsMain Street),  a Pat Metheny number and Monk’s In Walked Bud got the capacity audience nicely warmed up. The second set saw the unveiling of songs from the new album. Three moving, autobiographical, originals: Everyone, Maths & Morning Revisited (lyrics by Hannon, music by Williams) got things underway. The mood didn’t really get any lighter as versions of Miss Otis Regrets and Robert Wyatt’s Sea Song followed.
Back to back Romeo songs proved not to be the tragedy the Shakespeare might have intended as Mark Knoffler’s Romeo and Juliet was succeeded by Tom Wait’s Romeo Lies Bleeding with great aplomb. The setlist might give the impression that anyone not in tears by the end of the evening was a cruel and heartless misanthrope but nothing could be further from the truth since the quality of both material and performance couldn’t fail to entertain.
The band was remarkably slick almost too slick for my liking. Mark Williams is a great guitarist but I felt he was a little bit too confined in this format and therefore not really given the room to produce his customary explosive solos.  
I am not quite sure why the Lit and Phil was selected by JNE for this launch given that the grand piano lay untouched in a corner of the room. A more club-like venue with softer lighting would have been far better suited to the sultry soulful style that singer Hannon so brilliantly purveys.
The evening concluded with Carlos Jobim’s cheerful upbeat number No More Blues featuring some great work on drums from Russ Morgan. A fitting and joyful ending to a hugely successful evening but you don’t have to take my word for it buy the CD  and you too can experience ‘earth treading stars that make dark heaven light’.

Steve H

1 comment :

Dave Parker said...

All four of them were indeed 'earth treading stars' that night, and the emotional impact at the end of this superb gig was definitely 'such sweet sorrow'.

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