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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

Wed 22: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 22: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller's Rest, Cockerton. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public). Note change of venue - this week only.
Wed 22: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 22: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 23: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 4:00-6:00pm. Free.
Thu 23: NUJO Jazz Jam @ Bar Loco, Newcasatle. From 6:30pm 'til late. Free. Newcastle University Jazz Orchestra jam session. All welcome (students & non-students).
Thu 23: Kerrin Tatman + John Garner & John Pope @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 23: Sunna Gunnlaugs & Julia Hülsmann @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm. A two-piano gig. A Sage Gateshead-JNE promotion.
Thu 23: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Ragtime piano.
Thu 23: Sleep Suppressor @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £10.00., £8.00. adv. Upstairs.
Thu 23: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

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).

Monday, August 27, 2018

In Other Words & BABA @ Ushaw, Durham - August 26

(Review by Russell)
Offering performance opportunities to young musicians has become an integral part of the Ushaw Jazz Festival. This year's three day event opened on Friday evening with the Early Bird Big Band, Saturday afternoon featured the hothouse duo of Francis Tulip and Matt MacKellar (Birmingham and Berklee students, respectively) alongside the Whitley Bay keyboard wizard Joel Brown, and, on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the Francis Thompson Room, two bands (seven musicians, average age seemingly not much more than seventeen and three quarters!) were intent on making a big impression. 
A short set, all of thirty minutes, meant there was no time to waste for the three young musicians calling themselves In Other Words.

In Other Words: Alex Thompson (alto sax, clarinet); Nathan Lawson (guitar); Dylan Thompson (drums)
Straight ahead jazz is what In Other Words are all about. Autumn LeavesA Foggy Day in London TownLi'l Darlin' and the trio's signature tune, yes, you've got it, Fly Me to the Moon

Alex Thompson plays alto saxophone and clarinet - the former determinedly, the latter leisurely, both effectively. The young man positioned in the middle of the Thompsons (drummer Dylan is brother to Alex), left-hander Nathan Lawson,  plays a beautiful black Gretsch guitar. A fine player is Nathan, playing with or without a plectrum, the influence of Dr James Birkett all too evident. The trio's arrangements impressed and Dylan Thompson's expert use of brushes belied his tender years. DT has just left school and college beckons...watch out music world! Similarly, Alex will soon be off to university and a chair in a student big band surely awaits. 

Nathan's considered intro to Goodbye Pork Pie Hat set up Alex to unleash an impassioned, bluesy alto solo. Perhaps the tune of the set, but wait, their closing number ...I Got Rhythm with Dylan's hi-hat working overtime as he brushed at a lick and Alex's swift execution ideas, not shy about throwing in a quote or two - The Flintstones, for one - and Nathan on the case just about topped it. A most enjoyable set.
----- 
BABA: Thomas Dixon (alto sax, tenor sax); Ben Lawrence (piano); Adam Cornell (bass guitar); Dylan Thompson (drums)
Thomas Dixon co-leads BABA. The name roughly translates to 'spit' and it's a fair bet that alto saxophonist Dixon felt like doing it - spitting, that is - as a certain low-cost airline cancelled flights across Europe resulting in co-leader Inês Gonçalves being stranded in Portugal. What to do...find a piano dep or play as a piano-less trio? A potential dep happened to be at Ushaw and, with little time to get to grips with the all-original material, Ben Lawrence agreed to play the piano parts.

Dixon on tenor sax suggested the set's untitled opening number, written by the absent Gonçalves, could be called The Ryanair Debacle. A structured piece with space to improvise, Dixon led the way and didn't hesitate in giving the nod to the depping Lawrence who set about the material as if a long time member of the quartet. 

Binker and Moses and other high profile names are said to be influences on BABA and the intriguingly titled Origami Grandma incorporated elements of the drum 'n' bass, or rather the drum (Moses) and tenor sax (Binker) sound currently in vogue with Dixon on alto swooping in and out of swingtime sections. 

Dixon's clapped intro set up the band on Mouthwashing - drummer Dylan Thompson brandishing mallets with rock steady bassist Adam Cornell at his side.  Dixon has been busy writing material with some crazy time signatures and in introducing Moon Drunk suggested he and his bandmates could well be seen mumbling to themselves such was the level of concentration required. And concentrate they did! Drummer Thompson set up and maintained a complex rhythm as short-notice dep Ben Lawrence somehow or other produced a fully formed solo. 

BABA concluded the afternoon's entertainment in the Francis Thompson Room with Inciting Incident but not before Dixon thanked Paul Edis for giving the band the opportunity to perform at this, the third Ushaw Jazz Festival. All original material, some of it premiere material, keep an eye out for BABA.    
Russell.   
Ushaw photos.     

1 comment :

Lance said...

What Russell failed to mention was that Tom Dixon was playing on a borrowed alto. A very fine alto indeed but, as saxophonists, motorists and womanisers will affirm - each one is different and it takes time to find the comfort zone.
On alto, Tom found that comfort zone fairly quickly...

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