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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

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

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.

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).

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Kamasi Washington and the Next Step @ Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Big Top - May 6.

Kamasi Washington (tenor), Ricky Washington (flute, soprano), Ryan Porter (trombone), Patrice Quinn (vocal), Brandon Coleman (keyboards), Miles Mosley (bass), Tony Austin, Robert Miller (drums). 
(Review by Steve T pictured with 'the biggest thing in jazz at the moment'.)
He was introduced as 'the biggest thing in Jazz at the moment' and I for one wouldn't disagree.
Opening piece, his father switched from flute with the other horns to soloing on soprano for a frenzied free-jazz workout, gaining in intensity under keyboardist Brandon Coleman, with both drummers giving it that. Things initially cooled down for the leader's solo, and amongst the innovative nature of his music, it's easy to forget what a fine musician he is, but he gradually brought it back up with some frantic sax playing.
Great to see so many cool young kids really into it amongst us old fogeys, and a couple of cuts from the forthcoming album Heaven and Earth show promise that the mammoth (and patchy) triple CD Epic, followed by an EP Harmony of Difference is not the total of what he's got to offer.
Fist of Fury, named after his and my favourite Bruce Lee film, opened with lone sax before becoming - to these ears - more Spaghetti Western, with a touch of reggae, and becoming increasingly funky, led by clavinet.
The vocal was more spoken word and a bit like a Bond theme tune, working the title into the lyrics. His father took a flute solo before what was clearly a much anticipated high point, especially for the young'uns; a thunderous upright bass solo from Miles Mosley, complete with bow and effects.    
Space Travellers Lullaby found Patrice Quinn (I'm fairly certain) singing alongside the assembled horns before solos from 'bone and piano.
Next up, the concluding section of the EP Truth, featuring, he informed us, five interwoven melodies. Bass intro, keyboards, singing along with the horns, another blistering solo from the leader, more funk from clavinet, with just bass and drums and by its conclusion, everything was thrown in. The highlight of the set for me.
The final piece was a vocal from Epic called Rhythmic Changes, dad back on soprano after lots of flute throughout the set, Mosley's bowed bass taking Kamasi's solo up for one last time.
They didn't play an encore and I don't think anybody expected them to. It was already complete. 
Steve T.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

Which one is 'the biggest thing in jazz?'

Anonymous said...

Ha. That was a funny joke...
Oh wait. It wasn't. Silly me.

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