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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

15229 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 248 of them this year alone and, so far, 61 this month (March 20).

From This Moment On ...

March

Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 24: FILM: Mo' Better Blues @ Forum Cinema, Hexham. 7:00pm.
Fri 24: Ian Millar & Dominic Spencer @ Scarth Hall, Staindrop, Co. Durham. 8:00pm. £10.00.
Fri 24: Archipelago + Bulbils @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.

Sat 25: Vermont Big Band @ Walker Community Centre, Walker, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Fundraiser for Benfield Juniours Football Club. Hot food available, BYOB.
Sat 25: John Logan & Friends @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Rat Pack, Motown etc. 8:00pm. Free (donations).

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.
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.

Sunday, June 03, 2018

DJazz: The Durham City Jazz Festival. Francis Tulip Quartet @ Empty Shop - June 2.

Francis Tulip (guitar); Ben Lawrence (piano); Michael Dunlop (bass guitar); Matt MacKellar (drums).
(Review by Lance).
The Empty Shop wasn't empty. Is it ever? Certainly not when these guys are the attraction. They may not have been shaving for very long but, going by the maturity of their playing, they should have had grey beards and told stories about jamming with Miles on 52nd St.
As it happens, Miles was present in the form of the opener - Milestones. Taken at a faster lick than the original, the cards were laid down and they were all aces. Any infidels at this first-floor shrine were soon converted. Youth had won the day after but one number. 
Ben Lawrence, in his first public appearance with the band, slotted in seamlessly. It had been some time since I last heard him and it would seem that he has progressed in leaps and bounds. Of course, in this company, you either cut it or fall flat on your ass. Ben's still standing.
Matt MacKellar's progress has been well documented. Outside, the heavens had opened but the thunder was inside as Matt drummed up a storm of his own. I've heard drummers do less in a solo than he does in support. I'm unsure as to whether this is a good thing or a bad thing but, in this band at least, it's a good thing; driving, pushing the soloist to the limit.
If Matt's the rhythmic dynamo then Francis Tulip is the melodic version. Inventive, I swear he discovers a 'new' lost chord in every solo. His fretboard agility is more than mere exhibitionism, he needs that technique to unleash the constant flow of ideas.
I know someone will pull me and say, "Why do you always leave the bass player till last?" I hold my hand up and plead guilty to the charge. I don't know is my answer. I suppose it's because in 9 out of 10 bands the bass player's solo - if he's allowed one at all - invariably is the last one before the head or the fours (of which he's rarely included).
The bass player is the least appreciated by the audience and yet, imagine having the best automobile in the world and no tyres. Michael Dunlop is well named.
So, apart from Milestones, what else was played?
Darn That Dream; Giant Steps played at a fast Latin tempo; Peter Bernstein's Bones - dedicated to his dog; Scofield's Keep me in Mind; Kenny Wheeler's La Belle Helene - Like Tulip père, I'm not a big Wheeler dealer but this version was ok going from bland to bombastic and back again. Finally, as newcomer Ben is a big Robert Glasper fan, they finished off with his Rise and Shine. This we duly did, responding with thunderous applause only this time the thunder was outside and my brolly was in the car parked some distance away - but what was getting wet compared to a session like this!
Lance.

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

The kind of drumming as seen especially in big boys like Tony and Elvin marked the use of the kit as something to be used as a springboard and facilitate a lot of interaction in a way far greater than the drumming of the bebop era. Certainly for Elvin, form became less important than vibe and energy . There was another excellent example of this in Will Glaser with Soweto later on saturday night.

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