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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

15867 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 874 of them this year alone and, so far, 72 this month (Sept. 25).

From This Moment On ...

September

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.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

GIJF Day 3: The Interchange Dectet Led By Issie Barratt – Sage Gateshead, April 8

Brigitte Beraha (voice); Yazz Ahmed (trumpet, electronics); Helena Kay (clarinet, alto sax); Tori Freestone (flute, ten, sop sax, violin); Issie Barratt (bari sax, bandleader); Carol Jarvis (trombone); Shirley Smart (electric cello); Karen Street (accordion); Charlie Pyne (double bass); Katie Patterson (drums, percussion)
(Review by Ann Alex/photo courtesy of Ken Drew).
Issie Barratt explained that she usually works as a composer who is given commissions to complete, but she decided that she wished to work with musicians of her own choosing to see what they could all come up with. And this is it. Ten very talented musicians, playing 10 works, which will eventually result in a CD to be called Donna’s Secret, which is also the title of a novel which has influenced one of the pieces. 
All the pieces were composed by band members or other women, and I’d describe the music as world music, influenced by jazz. I use the word pieces, rather than tunes, as each piece is complex, about ten minutes long, programmatic, as each section is descriptive of the title to some extent, and there appears to be much improvisation. Many different influences are present, Arabic and Middle Eastern tunes, folk tunes, poetry and Shakespeare.
And there is the added attraction of the (mostly) wordless vocals from Brigitte Beraha, who sings expressively in rich tones, an integral part of many of the pieces. The electronic effects also add much, such as the voices of women calling the cattle home across the valleys, in the final piece.
The piece entitled Caliban by Cassie Kinoshi, was being played for the first time ever. It began with a bowed bass and low horns in a lumbering rhythm, as you’d imagine Caliban to appear, then multi-tracked vocals and a trombone rhythm accompanying the horns, followed by accordion music.
To try to get the ‘feel’ of the music, I’ll simply list the pieces with the composer’s name.

Still Here by Karen Street, which referred to her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease.
An Ocean Formed of Stars by Yazz Ahmed, with quotations from the poetry of Rumi, and an ethereal sound.
Spontaneous Symmetry by Tori  Freestone, luscious music.
To The Power of Ten by Nikki Yeoh.
Negomi by Nikki Iles.
Caliban as above.
Donna’s Secret by Brigitte Beraha, with sweet singing from Brigitte and the bass player.
Palmyra by Shirley Smart, my favourite piece, with a very eastern-sounding cello, concerning the recent destruction of ancient monuments.
Samla Korna Med Kulning by Issie Barratt.

There may have been another piece, Hope by Carol Jarvis, which was introduced when I was distracted by my reviewer’s pen running out!  Every reviewer’s nightmare, sorry about that.

I guess that this music would especially please jazz lovers of wide tastes who like something out of the ordinary, and also classical music fans who are familiar with programmatic music. An interesting evening’s music.
Ann Alex

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