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Bebop Spoken There

Ambrose Akinmusire: “ I am certainly always aware of what the masses are doing. And when I see too many people going one way, I'm going another way - even when I don't know what's over that way". DownBeat, March, 2024.

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!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Josh Weir: I love the writing on bebop spoken here... I think the work you are doing is amazing.

Postage

16287 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 16 years ago. 169 of them this year alone and, so far, 41 this month (Mar 18).

From This Moment On ...

March

Tue 19: Jam session @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. House trio: Michael Young, Paul Grainger, Tim Johnston.

Wed 20: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 20: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 20: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.

Thu 21: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 21: Castillo Neuvo Trio + Conor Emery & His ‘Bones Band @ The Grove, Ouseburn, Newcastle. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £10.00. (£7.00. student).
Thu 21: Remi Banklyn + Chris Corcoran Trio @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £12.50. Chicago blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Thu 21: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Ragtime piano.
Thu 21: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 8:30pm.

Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos & Paul Edis @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. £8.00. SOLD OUT!
Fri 22: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 22: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 22: Nauta + Remy CB + Last Orders @ Hoochie Coochie, Newcastle. 8:30pm (7:30pm doors). Free.
Fri 22: Vasilis Xenopoulos-Paul Edis Quartet @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £15.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 22: Redwell @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sat 23: Jambone @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 6:30pm. Free (ticketed). End of term performance in the Northern Rock Foundation Hall.
Sat 23: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 23: Red Kites Jazz @ Rowlands Gill Community Centre NE39 1JB. 7:00pm. Tickets: £12.00. (gibsidecommunityfarm@gmail.com). A ‘Build a Barn’ fundraiser. BYOB, tea/coffee available.
Sat 23: New Century Ragtime Orchestra @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm. £20.00. + bf (book in person at venue - no booking fee!). Featuring pianist Martin Litton.
Sat 23: Pete Tanton’s Cuba Libre @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.

Sun 24: Musicians Unlimited @ Park Inn, Hartlepool. 1:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:30pm. Free.
Sun 24: Luis Verde @ Queen’s Hall, Hexham. 3:00pm. Verde (alto sax); Joe Steels (guitar); John Pope (double bass); John Hirst (drums). Alto sax brilliance!
Sun 24: Elsie Franklin @ The Globe, Newcastle. 3:00pm. £10.00. Country blues. An International Guitar Foundation promotion.
Sun 24: 4B @ The Ticket Office, Whitley Bay Metro Station. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 24: Las Vegas Live with the Rat Pack @ The Forum, Billingham.
Sun 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Otterburn Memorial Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00.
Sun 24: Lindsay Hannon: Tom Waits for No Man @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 7:00pm. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig. Note start time - 7:00pm.
Sun 24: Bold Big Band @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm.

Mon 25: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 25: Michael Young Trio @ The Engine Room, Sunderland. 6:30pm. Free.

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Pianos and how to break ‘em! - Paul Edis Trio @ Ushaw - May 18

Paul Edis (piano); Andy Champion (double bass); Russ Morgan (drums)

(Review by Jerry)
We were lucky to find a parking spot in front of this imposing old building and even luckier to find a seat inside. The Francis Thompson Room was packed and more chairs were being carried in right up to the gig’s start time. It is truly heartening to see so many people on a Friday, forsaking the bars, eateries (barbecues, even, on such a glorious evening!) or comforts of home to listen to live jazz. They arrived expectant, they left buzzing after a piano-themed feast served up by musical master chefs, Edis, Morgan and Champion! The trio, then with Adam Sinclair on drums, had given a similar master-class in Fenham last month (see review by Russell).
As then, they opened with a personal favourite, It’s Only a Paper Moon, with solos and fours giving all three musicians the chance to introduce themselves to the audience. Nat King Cole’s influence on other pianists was the link to Moten Swing, here performed in a manner which would probably have raised approving smiles from Messrs. Thigpen, Brown and Peterson. Another disciple was Bill Evans who, in turn, is a massive influence on tonight’s pianist – thus it is that music evolves. Like Someone in Love opened with an almost classical piano intro and included more fours, later, with Edis singling out tonight’s drummer, Russ Morgan, for additional applause at the end.

Snakes and Ladders and Lucky Eleven, two Edis originals, followed – the justification of their inclusion in the “history of jazz piano” being as inventive as some of the composer’s own solos on the night – but great tunes both. Lucky Eleven is a beautifully melodic, reflective ballad while Snakes and Ladders is either “a philosophical narrative about life” or “a tune which goes up and down” according to the listener’s preference!

Timeout for the interval was signalled by Unsquare Dance, appropriately from Brubeck’s 1959 album, Time Out. Infectious 7/8 time, rhythmic clapping and drumming and dexterous piano-work make this a crowd-pleaser but, as Russell commented after the Fenham gig, it’s really Andy Champion’s bass which holds the pyrotechnics together. It certainly pleased this crowd who seemed almost to be expecting an encore even though it was only the end of the first set!

That elation was quickly re-established by the up-tempo Edis original, Whiskers with big applause for the bass solo and for great brush-work (“whisker-work” maybe?). There was amazing piano on Lullaby of Birdland with a sustained two-handed tremolo (trill?) moving almost all the way up the keyboard. The bass solo and cheeky ending were also noteworthy. More Evans followed with the “complex harmonies” of Very Early, a tune Edis uses as an exemplar with his degree students.

The Long Way Round is a catchy tune which really grows on you. Inspired in equal parts by Jobim and the Tyneside Metro, I particularly liked the bass part tonight and the crescendo and “snap” finish to the piece. The ballad, Lush Life – Billy Strayhorn via (a name to conjure with) Phineas Newborn Jnr – followed and then it was time for Monk…

Talking of names to conjure with, this is one I have to google every time: Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues-Are – as quirky and as brilliant as the man himself! In between intricate runs and piano tricks, some of Edis’ hammered, finger-jabbing notes reminded me of the person living below Monk’s apartment who complained about the man upstairs demolishing pianos! Champion, not to be outdone, elicited whoops and cheers for his solo while Russ Morgan, starting with brushes, then hands (and elbows!??), then sticks and loadsa bass-drum, whipped up a storm! How, as an encore, do you follow that? With a kamikaze-paced Edis original, Lines, that’s how!

As I said earlier, the audience (big enough almost to call it a crowd!) were buzzing and, had the gig gone on for two days, as Edis jokingly threatened at the start, no-one would have left.
Jerry

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