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Bebop Spoken There

Branford Marsalis: "As ignorance often forces us to do, you make a generalisation about a musician based on one specific record or one moment in time." - (Jazzwise June 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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

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

Tue 06: Paul Skerritt @ The Rabbit Hole, Hallgarth St., Durham DH1 3AT. 7:00pm. Paul Skerritt's (solo) weekly residency.
Tue 06: Jam session @ Black Swan, Newcastle Arts Centre. 7:30pm. House trio: Stu Collingwood (piano); Paul Grainger (double bass); Sid White (drums).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free. CANCELLED! BACK ON JUNE 15.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sat 10: Miners' Picnic @ Woodhorn, Ashington. Music inc. Northern Monkey Brass Band (3:00-3:50pm); New York Brass Band (4:00-4:55pm).
Sat 10: Front Porch Three @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Americana, blues, jazz etc.
Sat 10: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A 'Jar on the Bar' gig.

Sun 11: WORKSHOP: Tim Richards' Jazz Piano Workshop @ JG Windows, Newcastle. Time TBC. Further details tel. 0191 232 1356.
Sun 11: Jeremy McMurray's Pocket Jazz Orchestra @ Ropner Park, Stockton TS18 4EF. 2:00-4:00pm. Free.
Sun 11: Am Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 11: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 3:00pm.
Sun 11: Groovetrain @ Innisfree Sports & Social Club, Longbenton NE12 8TY. Doors 6:30pm. £15.00 (£7.00. under 16).
Sun 11: Jeffrey Hewer Collective @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 12: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.

Monday, January 15, 2018

Francis Tulip Quartet @ The Quakerhouse, Darlington - Jan 14

Francis Tulip (guitar), Joel Brown (keyboards), Michael Dunlop (bass) & Matthew MacKellar (drums) + Dan Garel (alto saxophone)
(Review by Russell).
Darlington Jazz Club’s first concert promotion of the year featured a young quartet playing a fourth and final date of a tour across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and here at the Quakerhouse pub in County Durham. The Francis Tulip Quartet was about to go into abeyance as the musicians set off on their travels once again to Birmingham, London, Boston, USA and downtown Whitley Bay.
The Quakerhouse was as full as it gets for this eagerly anticipated appearance by the new kids on the block and the audience wasn’t to be disappointed. Benny Golson’s Stablemates, guitarist Gilad Hekselman’s Purim, a familiar looking setlist, the quartet, with bassist Michael Dunlop travelling up from London to play the gig, was in the groove from the off. And as if it couldn’t get any better, Dan Garel would join the band to play a couple of numbers!
Alto saxophonist Dan, in his final year of study at Durham University, is a stand out musician on the local scene (Group Theory, Durham University Big Band, Empty Shop jam session organiser and a frequent participant at the Jazz Café’s jam session in Newcastle), and his presence made this an ‘I was there’ occasion. And they played two all-time great standards - Body and Soul and Stella by Starlight. If they’d packed up there and then it would have been worth making the trip.

Francis Tulip sustained remarkably mature guitar playing throughout the two sets and another term at Birmingham Conservatoire will, likely as not, produce further wonders. As bandleader, Tulip took responsibility for making the usual announcements, and the quartet closed the first set with all four musicians contributing blazing solos on Caravan segueing into 500 Miles High.

As the second set was about to start pianist Joel Brown and bassist Michael Dunlop were nowhere to be seen. Francis Tulip filled the void playing a few bars of All the Things You Are. Cue applause. As Brown and Dunlop returned to the stand Matt MacKellar counted in Yes or No. Wayne Shorter’s number has featured on all tour dates yielding brilliant individual and group musicianship and here at the Quakerhouse it wasn’t any different. Other bands with more miles on the clock would be only too proud to match this standard. More from New York guitar wiz Gilad Hekselman as Tulip and co played March of the Sad Ones. The lads would appear to like playing the number, and why not?

Black Narcissus produced sensitive playing all round, In Walked Bud took a funk turn with Michael Dunlop’s five-string bass playing confirming a real talent as drummer Matt MacKellar had some fun on an exchange of fours. On his recent flight home from Boston Matt whiled away time transcribing Christian McBride’s Interlude for the band. Time well spent! Some seriously good playing by all four. The Francis Tulip Quartet’s now familiar finale – John Coltrane’s Impressions – featured the return of Dan Garel on alto as Dunlop and Brown struck up a most musical bass and piano conversation before bandleader Tulip assumed command taking it out. The applause said it all.    
Russell.    

                         

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