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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

15491 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 512 of them this year alone and, so far, 133 this month (May 31).

From This Moment On ...

June

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.
Sun 04: Jam No. 18 @ Fabio's Bar, Saddler Street, Durham. 8:00pm. Free. All welcome. A Durham University Jazz Society event.

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).

Wed 07: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Wed 07: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 07: 4B @ The Exchange, North Shields. 7:00pm.
Wed 07: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 08: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 08: Easington Colliery Brass Band @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 08: Faye MacCalman + Blue Dust Archive @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Dilutey Juice + Ceramic @ The Ampitheatre, Sea Road, South Shields. 7:00pm. Free. A South Tyneside Festival event.
Thu 08: Lara Jones w. Vigilance State @ Lubber Fiend, Blandford Square, Newcastle. 7:00pm.
Thu 08: Michael Littlefield @ the Harbour View, Roker, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free. Country blues.
Thu 08: Tees Hot Club @ Dorman's Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 09: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 09: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm.
Fri 09: Castillo Nuevo @ Revolución de Cuba, Newcastle. 5:30-8:30pm.
Fri 09: Emma Rawicz @ Sage Gateshead. 8:00pm.

Sunday, November 04, 2018

Review: Charkie Parlour @ the Globe - November 1

John Garner (violin, composer); Mark Williams (guitar); John Pope (bass); Russ Morgan (drums)
(Review by Ann Alex).
This was a thrilling evening of music, especially from a band which, according to Mr Garner, doesn’t actually exist, because they don’t have a website, haven’t yet produced a CD, and this was their first gig anyway! 

How best to describe this very varied music, all band originals, with influences from free jazz, classical, folk, Eastern music and South African music? I’ll start with the musicians themselves who are known to jazz fans from other bands. John Garner is a classically expert violinist who produced sounds which no violin ought to make, long slides, weeping, squeaking, scratching, besides the more ‘normal’ lyrical tunes, pizzicato, double-stopped chords, and even a cadenza which would have fitted well into a violin concerto by Beethoven.

Mark was quieter than other times I’d seen him, but giving us flowing tunes or jagged effects as required and lots of call and response with the violin. John simply did all sorts, sometimes down at the dusty end of the bass, tweaking, clapping, bowing,  much improvised I’d guess, and with quite a bit of comedy. Our drummer was a million miles away from swing for much of the time, sticks, brushes, mallets, hands, very adaptable and varied.

The sound was great, but even if you hadn’t liked the sound, it was so, so interesting to watch. The free end of jazz is very visual.

So what was played? Twelve or so long pieces, three of them from a suite composed by Garner. Garner explained that the suite was influenced loosely by the writings of Kahlil Gibran in his meditative book The Prophet. Garner had also thrown a dice to help decide the notes and chords to be used.

So Love began with a bowed bass and ‘scratchy’ violin, rather Schoenberg-like, rumbling drums, then pizzicato violin and lots of guitar riffs. The description doesn’t do it justice and it all worked well. The other two pieces from the suite were called Children and Giving.

The first tune of the night was a bit more conventional, opening with riffs and grooves from bass and drum, then a beautiful flowing folky tune from violin, bell-like guitar, a long guitar solo, ensemble climax, and repeated riffs at the end. The Bump, ‘to do with pregnancy’ said Garner, was amusing, with sliding violin, mad guitar, sounds which reminded me of a plane landing or of the music which goes with cartoons.

Foot Fluff was also funny, a short piece with, to my ears, Klezmer effects. Have Violin Will Travel featured ‘travelling’ music, lines of melody appearing to move along, and this morphed at some point into a John Pope composition called Ing. A tune for Halloween was followed by the final piece, There’s No Time Like The Future, which was a lovely hymn-like melody on violin, with improvisation from the others.  

The band play in Edinburgh early in the New Year and a CD is in the pipeline. I spoke to many of the audience who said how much they had enjoyed the performance, so I predict that this band has a promising future. A great evening, with much to interest lovers of more conventional jazz as well as those who like the more ‘free’ style.
Ann Alex

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